Hinata's Secret
by Shikara Gizzel
Summary: Hinata X Harem. Shisui stepped toward her and pulled her hair. "Maybe you are the devil's daughter. Your hair is Bluish-lavender-black"."I think she looks like Snow White," Sasuke said. His hand reached out and stroked her hair. Hinata gasped at the intimate one had ever stroked her hair before, and for him to do so caused her heart to flutter with joy. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto.

 **A/N:** English is not my first Language so there might be some error. Read and let me know, what you like and what you don't like. So I'll correct it the next time. Hope u enjoy it.

In this story Uchiha's are not from Japan. So they find Hinata and her name different.

 **Summary:**

When orphan Hinata once again meets the billionaire gorgeous brothers, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, forbidden feelings are awakened and old flame ignites.

Orphan Hinata is accustomed to being rejected, hated, bullied, and unloved. When she is adopted by the wealthy Uchiha family, she works hard to earn her new siblings' trust and love. Her endeavour, however, ultimately leads to a series of unfortunate incidents.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

 _Sayonara, my beautiful daughter. You are like the sunshine that brightens and brings life to many things, so lovely and full of life and color. You are here in my life for only a short time, enchanting me with your innocent beauty and kind soul, and a certain period later you are gone again, out of my life. Thus, I shall name you Hinata. I am sad, my darling daughter, to leave you behind. I am sad to never see you grow up, feel your love, or hear you call me "Oka-chan." But I am not a worthy mother. Thus, sayonara, my beautiful Hinata._ _I will miss you my little sunshine._

* * *

Hinata, with no last name, was found in spring on the doorstep of Brooke Orphanage in a small town called Konoha in Hidden Leaf Island. Her mother mysteriously disappeared after leaving the baby girl in a basket along with a note that said My daughter's name is Hinata and a beautiful necklace with a Bluish-violet diamond pendant in the shape of a sun.

Hinata was a shy, quiet girl. Her childhood lacked the love and affection that one receives from one's parents. From very early on, she knew she didn't have a mother or a father and longed to have them. She did not interact much with the other children in the orphanage, knowing she looked different, having half-European and half-Asian blood, and therefore she was constantly picked on.

Mrs. Haruno, the headmistress of the orphanage, didn't like Hinata very much and neither did her pretty little daughter, Sakura Haruno, who was Hinata's age and her worst nightmare. It was apparent from very early on that Sakura was destined to be Hinata's enemy. The little pink-haired, green-eyed girl enjoyed tormenting Hinata and making fun of her, isolating the girl from the rest and setting her as a target for her amusement.

Sakura knew she was pretty and everyone adored her. She had her mother and most of the staff at the orphanage wrapped around her little finger. Many times she would tell her mother, and everyone else for that matter, lies about Hinata. That Hinata worshiped heathen gods other than their Jesus Christ, spoke to the devil, stole food from the kitchen, bullied her or the younger children, and many more.

Mrs Haruno, always believing her beloved daughter, would punish Hinata many times, slapping the little girl on the cheeks, spanking her backside, taking away her toys and books, denying her meals, and making her kneel on the concrete floor in the church from midday until midnight without any food or water, all in order to teach her a lesson. Hence Hinata lived in the orphanage being bullied, hated, and ignored.

Eventually, she grew accustomed to being alone and learned to endure the harassment. When she was told to pray to God for forgiveness for being a naughty girl, she prayed instead she'd get adopted by a nice family who loved her and to leave this horrendous place where no one liked her. Then she'd daydream about it happening, about her going far away and living with her very own family. Every night she'd imagine, smile, and thank the Lord for making her dream come true before it happened.

Such was the power of positive thinking, for Hinata's dream did come true one day.

The family she wanted to belong to appeared after she turned seven years old. It was during the summer, and the children of Brooke Orphanage were invited to have a picnic with the Uchiha's, the wealthiest family on Leaf Island and sponsors of the orphanage.

Hinata knew the moment she stepped out of the bus and onto the neatly paved pathway and exotically beautiful garden that she wanted to be here. When she stared up at the enormous mansion like those castles in fairy tale books, she sucked in her breath with pleasure. Her head spun in delight as she gazed up at the building that stretched high above her.

"Whoa! So pretty! So big!" the children murmured with delight And Hinata agreed with them.

The man of the house came out to greet them. He was very handsome with Black-gray eyes and shiny-ebony hair that everyone loved. He had a nice smile on his face as he greeted every one of them, and Hinata felt her heart quicken with happiness as his eyes met hers. There was kindness within those eyes that Hinata had never received from anyone before.

The man ushered the children to the large garden with a gentle, rolling lawn and magnolia trees, where delicious food and sweet drinks waited for them to enjoy. That was when the whole family came out, and Hinata instantly fell in love with them and knew she wanted to be with them.

They were a big family, just like she'd always wanted, and she did her best learning their names when they were introducing themselves to everyone.

The nice father's name was Fugaku Uchiha, and the pretty mother's was Mikoto Uchiha. The oldest son was Madara, who was twelve years old and had shiny-ebony hair and black-gray eyes like his father, complete with glasses. He looked kind and at the same time serious, just like his father. Then there were the ten-year-olds, non-identical triplets: Shisui with onyx hair and onyx-blue eyes, Izuna with black-brown hair and black-gray eyes, and Itachi with Raven-black hair and Crimson eyes. The boy with spiky-black hair and black-violet eyes was eight-year-old Obito. He had a mischievous look about him as he introduced himself. Next to Obito were the non-identical twins, Sarada and Sasuke, at six years old. Sarada, the older sister by a mere three minutes, had pitch-black hair and pitch- black eyes, and Sasuke, the younger brother, had raven-blue hair and mauve-gray eyes. And then there was the baby of the house, Tobi, at four years old, with pale-black hair and black-gray eyes, hiding his face behind his mother's skirt.

Hinata couldn't take her eyes off all of the children because they fascinated her. She felt a pang of longing as she watched them play with the other children, especially with pretty Sakura.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Hinata became aware of one of the boys, Itachi, watching her.

"Where are you from?" he asked. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Hinata shook her head as she gazed at him, marvelling at his raven-black hair that glittered like black gold under the sun and his crimson eyes, the same color as the Red Moon in legends.

She knew very well what he meant, for the majority of the population living on Leaf Island was white, and she, a half-bred little girl who'd been cast away by her own parents, was a rare specimen indeed.

"Her mother threw her away when she was a baby," Sakura said behind Itachi. "Mommy said she's tainted, a devil's daughter, and no one wants her."

Hinata felt her heart thumping furiously in response, her face flushing with shame. She felt like running away to hide because she didn't want this beautiful boy to know she was a throwaway, a piece of rubbish no one wanted, not even her own mother or father. Perhaps Sakura was right.

Perhaps she was tainted. Perhaps she was a devil's daughter, and that was why no one wanted her.

"How could a mother throw her own daughter away?" Madara asked. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose and made a frown very much like his father when he was contemplating something very important. "That's just mean."

Shisui stepped toward her and pulled her hair. "Maybe you are the devil's daughter. Your hair is Bluish-lavender-black."

"And your skin is so white," Izuna put in, pinching her cheek. Hinata whined.

"If she's the devil's daughter," Sarada butted in, "then we shouldn't be playing with her. We shouldn't be talking to her at all. She might give us the pox or something." The pretty girl shivered and pulled a face. "Has she given you anything nasty yet, Sakura?"

Sakura laughed. "No, not yet. Not unless nightmares count. Mama said she cries at night and it sounds like a ghost. So we shouldn't talk to her at all. Otherwise, she'll give us nightmares."

Sarada shivered and hugged Sakura. "I don't want nightmares." Go away, you devil witch. You're a bad witch just like the Wicked Witch of the West in the Narnia."

Itachi frowned at his sister. "Don't be silly, Sarada. She's no witch, and she won't give us nightmares. She's just a little girl."

"Oh? How do you know for sure?" Sarada remarked.

"You're so skinny and short like a dwarf," Obito said. "But those dwarves in books aren't that skinny like you."

Hinata blushed, feeling a bit overwhelmed at being the center of attention. She could feel herself shaking from nervousness and took a few steps back to get some space.

"I think she looks like Snow White," Sasuke said. His hand reached out and stroked her hair. "Really bluish-lavender black hair and really pale skin."

Hinata gasped at the intimate contact and turned to look at him, her eyes shining. No one had ever stroked her hair before, and for him to do so caused her heart to flutter with joy.

Little Sasuke grinned at her, his eyes sparkling as he moved his fingers to caress her face, marvelling at the soft, pale skin.

Hinata shyly returned his smile, liking his warmth and his gentle, feathery touches. Her wee heart glowed, and she felt warm all over. She wondered if this was what it felt like to have a real family, to have someone love you and care for you.

Sakura laughed hoarsely. "Don't be silly, Sasuke. She's ugly and a devil's daughter. Don't go near her." She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back, away from Hinata.

Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Why'd you do that for?"

"Just get away from her!" Sakura snapped, frowning darkly at Sasuke.

Sasuke scowled. "I don't want to. I like her."

"Sasuke!" Sarada shrieked. "How could you like her? She's the devil's daughter!"

"She's not the devil's daughter!" Sasuke replied firmly, taking Hinata by the hand.

Sakura looked as though she was about to scream her head off but held herself in check before she embarrassed herself in front of the Uchiha siblings.

"What's your name?" Madara asked.

Hinata was so conscious of Sasuke's warm hand clasping around hers that she didn't hear Madara. When he patiently asked her again, she glanced up, licked her lips nervously, and said, "Hinata."

"Hi… What?" Obito asked.

"Hi-na-ta," Hinata said again.

"What does it mean?" Shisui butted in, his head cocked to one side.

Hinata shrugged her small shoulders and lowered her head to avoid their gazes. She felt rather ashamed that she didn't know what her name meant, but she was determined to find out once she got back to the orphanage.

"That name is too hard to pronounce," Izuna said to himself. "Why don't we give you another name? A nickname?"

Hinata glanced up, her heart pounding with delight. _Oh God_ , she thought. _They are giving me a nickname. Does that mean they're my friends?_

"Why would you give her a nickname?" Sakura asked in annoyance.

"Yeah! Why?" Sarada shouted at her brother.

"I want a nickname, too," Sakura demanded, furrowing her pretty brows. "Your name is easy to pronounce," Itachi said. "And I don't feel like giving one."

"How about Hannah?" Madara suggested. "It's a popular name, and it means princess."

Sakura butted in instantly. "But she's not a princess. She doesn't even look like a princess. She's a devil's daughter."

"She looks like Snow White to me," Sasuke said again, smiling at Hinata. "We can call her Snow or something."

"What? Just because she has black hair and pale skin?" Sakura muttered unhappily. "She's plain and ugly like Mommy said. So we should give her a plain and ugly name."

"Yes, we should do that," Sarada said, nodding her head furiously.

"What about Sally?" Itachi suggested. "Yes, Sally sounds about right," Sakura said, nodding her head. "She is silly, after all, and it rhymes, I think. Hinata is a silly girl. Sally and silly." She laughed loudly. "Silly Sally."

And so Hinata had a nickname that she herself did not have a vote in, and soon the children returned to their play and forgot all about her.

Every night after that day, Hinata prayed the Uchiha's would adopt her into their family. Then one day her dream came true in the most bizarre way.

The orphanage was on fire and the whole building burned down, killing Mrs. Haruno, though all of the children and staff escaped. After some hard and fast investigation by the police, it was found that Mrs Haruno had been smoking in the kitchen while the gas was still on, thus leading to an explosion.

However, a rumor was spread that Hinata was responsible for starting the fire by leaving the oven gas turned on. Though she had done no such thing, she could not rebuke the claim that Sakura and her friends made as witnesses to the whole ordeal. Soon Hinata found herself hated by everyone who knew her, and she lost all hope of an adoption.

One week after the incident, Fugaku Uchiha walked in, claiming that such a nice young girl couldn't have done such a terrible thing, and since she had nowhere to go and no one would take her, he and his wife would adopt her.

Hinata was so relieved and happy over this man's kindness that, for the first time in her seven years, she cried in front of everyone. Fugaku wiped away her tears, told her everything would be all right, lifted her into his arms, and took her home to his family.

* * *

A/N: Review


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

 **The Lonely Flower Hinata**

Hinata Uchiha stroked the strands of her long tresses away from her face. The glossy locks refused to obey her and fell back in place. She muttered under her breath and tossed them back, bunching up the curls and letting them fall to one side of her slender shoulder. Then she turned just so to the right to get into a good position, lifted the camera up to her eyes, and when she thought the lighting was as good as it was going to get, she clicked on the record button. _Click! Click!_ _Click!_

Just then a gust of wind blew, loosening her hair and fluttering it about. She, however, paid no heed to this as she was too consumed with what she was doing.

 _It's perfect!_ Just what she needed. Countless cherry blossom petals were flying all around her like rain. _Click! Click! Click!_ It was so beautiful, wildflowers and cherry blossoms in the woods giving out myriads of colors. It'd be perfect for her painting. She took a step back to take in the whole picture—cherry blossoms, leaves, trees, and wildflowers in the background. Once she thought she'd taken enough photos, she lowered the camera and smiled with satisfaction.

"You're going to be my bestseller this week," she said, tapping her finger on the petal. "And I thank you for that." Then she imagined the digits increasing in her bank account—and yes, that also meant her plan to go overseas was getting closer to reality too.

She turned to pick up her bag, tossed it over her shoulder, and headed back toward the road as she hummed to herself.

 _Woof! Woof! Woof!_

Hinata felt something soft grazing against her legs. She glanced down and saw a cute dog with fluffy white fur and large black eyes watching her, begging for her attention. The West Highland white terrier barked her a happy greeting.

"Where have you been, Doby?" she greeted back. "I told you not to go too far. You might get lost What if I couldn't find you? What would you do then? You'd become an orphan."

Hinata knew exactly what it was like to be an orphan. It was a most terrible feeling to have no one to share your love, your fear, your happiness, or your experiences. It was a lonely existence, and no one deserved that.

"You wouldn't want that now, would you?" she queried Doby as she bent down to pick him up. The dog stuck out his tongue and licked her cheek. She couldn't help herself and giggled.

The fact was Hinata loved Doby since it was she who had found him half-buried in the snow in the depths of the woods three winters ago. The pup was lost and very sick, having been abandoned by his owner who had left Hidden Leaf Island and never returned. If it hadn't been for her, Doby could've died from starvation and hypothermia.

The pup, later named Doby by Hinata herself, had known it had been Hinata who saved him and had taken a liking to her immediately, doting on her and following her wherever she went.

"Don't!" She told him off. The dog looked somewhat disappointed as he tried to lick her again. "It's your fault for not listening to me, Doby." She returned him to the ground. "Now then, I think it's time to head back. I do have many more things to do before dinner." She paused, looking up at the beautiful spring sky; her eyes narrowed against the bright sunlight. "And then there's Saturday." She frowned, and her heart skipped a beat.

Saturday would come all too soon, the day when everyone would be arriving for the wedding and the holiday. There'd be so many people Hinata didn't know. But of course, that didn't matter. What mattered—and what worried her—was the fact that her adopted brothers—all seven of them—would be coming as well since it was their cousin Hana's wedding.

Hinata cocked her head to one side as she thought about the brothers. There were the very responsible, father-like figure Madara; the very popular, mischievous triplets Shisui, Izuna, and Itachi; the disobedient, bad-boy Obito; the smart, arrogant Sasuke, who disliked her most since those unfortunate incidents thirteen years ago; and lastly nice, sincere Tobi.

Of course, she couldn't forget about Sakura, Sarada, and their big-city friends. They'd no doubt only be too happy to be back and make Hinata's life as miserable as possible. But Hinata too had grown up into a fine woman with strong will. Or so Dad Fugaku told her many times. Hence, come hell or high water, Hinata wasn't going to put up with their nastiness this time. After all, she had her own life and her own plans to worry about and therefore had no time for their crap.

As she breathed in the fresh spring air and strolled along the woodland, a thought suddenly struck her. She nibbled her lower lip, her eyes gazing off into the far distance to the sea beyond.

Would they still remember her, though?

She scoffed at the thought immediately. _Of course not!_ If they remembered anything about her at all, it was probably the pranks they had played on her and the many scolding's they had received from Dad Fugaku and Mom Mikoto because of her. Not that she'd ever been the one who told on them. It had always been pretty Sakura, who was also adopted by the Uchiha's, and Sarada who had been the masterminds behind everything. Then they'd all gone off to boarding school—the boys to St. Michael's Boarding School for Boys, one of the most prestigious schools in America, and Sakura and Sarada to Princess Diana's Boarding School for Girls, also one of the most prestigious schools in America.

Not very long after, Hinata too had gone off to St. Senju Boarding School for Girls where she met her friends Hana Inuzuka, who also turned out to be the boys' cousin from their mother's side, and Mei Terumi, a girl from a good family who also lived on Hidden Leaf Island. She, Hana, and Mei had many lovely times together, helping each other with schoolwork and enjoying each other's company, both in and out of school.

Back then, during the holidays, Hinata would stay with the Inuzuka's at their farm in California, enjoying her times there with Hana, Mei, and Hana's brother, Kiba. Then every so often Dad Fugaku and Mom Mikoto would come and stay with them for a couple of days along with Dale and Molly, her adopted grandparents from Dad Fugaku's side of the family. During those times, Hinata had never felt more warm, happy, and complete to have such a wonderful circle of family and friends. Hence she never really saw the boys—nor Sarada and Sakura for that matter—ever since she left thirteen years ago. By the time she completed her science degree at UCLA and had returned to Hidden Leaf Island to work in the local hospital, they all had left home completely to live wherever their hearts had taken them. Of course, she had no idea where they were living now, and to be frankly honest, neither did she care.

"So what do you think they're like now?" she asked Doby, who was busy sticking his tongue out and sniffing the air with interest. Hinata cocked her head to one side, wondering.

"Madara would be twenty-eight by now," she murmured to herself, picturing the young Madara when she last saw him when he was fifteen years old. "The triplets?" She cocked her head to the other side, watching Doby wagging his tail as he was sniffing something of interest to him in the bush not too far away. "They'd be what? Twenty-six?" The picture of the three when they were thirteen flashed in her mind. "What about Obito and the twins?" Yes, Obito would be twenty-four by now, and the twins, Sarada and Sasuke, would be twenty-two.

The name Sasuke caused her heart to skip a beat, and that odd, dull pain was still there, lingering within her being, reminding her of what had happened that summer thirteen years ago.

Then there was Tobi, the baby of the house. "Yes," she murmured to herself, gently touching the overgrown tall grasses, "he'd be twenty by now."

"And me," she said under her breath, her heart pounding within her chest "I'll be twenty-four in a couple of weeks." _But then again_ , she thought, January 7th wasn't her actual birthdate. It was the date she was found on the doorstep of the orphanage, and she'd already been more than a couple of days old.

Looking back, she thought how Sakura had fit right in with the family as if she were born into it. Hinata, on the other hand, couldn't seem to make even one sibling like her at all. It had hurt because she badly wanted them to accept her. She wanted them to love and care for her as their sister. That, however, was not to be.

It didn't matter now, though, because there were Dad Fugaku, Mom Mikoto, Dale, and Molly who loved her. There was also Beth Zetsu, the housekeeper, who always doted on her in her own weird way. And of course Ned Zetsu, Beth's young brother, who treated her like his own child since he had none and longed for one. Not to mention her real mother, the woman she'd never met.

Deep down, Hinata knew her mother loved her because otherwise the woman wouldn't have given her a name—a very beautiful Japanese name—that meant sunshine and left her a sun pendant necklace. She found out not too long ago that the pendant stone was a rare Bluish-violet diamond, which was of the finest quality and very expensive. She knew without a doubt there had to be a reason her mother had abandoned her, and Hinata was determined to find the woman and then…

 _Then what?_

Unconsciously, she touched the Bluish-violet diamond about her neck.

When the wedding was over, she'd be going out there into the world—she didn't care where—to find her mother.

With that thought in mind, she smiled up at the sky and closed her eyes, savoring this very moment, cherishing it in her memory, and praying very hard that soon she'd find the woman who had given her life.

* * *

 **The Uchiha Brothers**

Itachi Uchiha wanted to kill his triplet siblings—Shisui and Izuna—for making his life a living hell. First they invited themselves into his luxurious apartment in Manhattan. Though there were five large bedrooms, a fitness room, a modern kitchen, a cinema room, and a comfy lounge, he still thought it was a bit crowded, having gotten so used to living alone for the past five years with only the occasional visits from his parents and grandparents.

The first night, they brought in their friends and had a blast partying in the house, emptying his beloved cellar and fridge and destroying some of his precious paintings and photographs he'd bought from an unknown, talented artist he greatly admired. The second night, they refused to let him stay home to finish his work and dragged him out drinking until the early hours of the morning. Their argument was, "It's Saturday!" The third night, they told him to get packing because they were leaving for Hidden Leaf Island three days early for their cousin Hana's wedding to surprise the bride-to-be—and their mom and dad, of course.

Itachi knew instantly it was that damn Shisui's idea, who only wanted to annoy the hell out of him, and naturally Izuna went along. Then Obito arrived on his motorbike, crashing on Itachi's king-size bed without an invitation, informing them he was now homeless and girlfriendless. His super-hot girlfriend had kicked him out after she'd seen him hugging another gorgeous guy and had wrongly assumed him to be gay and cheating on her. The guy, of course, turned out to be Sasuke.

Shisui burst out laughing until his stomach hurt when Obito explained that he'd been comforting Sasuke by patting Sasuke's shoulder—not hugging him—who'd had a bad breakdown because his girlfriend dumped him for another guy. Then Sasuke arrived—all wounded and heartbroken like a little pup—as Shisui kept telling everyone, including Sasuke himself, who in fact didn't give a shit whether this new ex-girlfriend of his dumped him or not and was indeed very glad the stagnated relationship was over.

Shisui insisted they had no choice but to comfort Sasuke by taking him out drinking until early dawn, which in due course led to a house full of men with hangovers the next morning accompanied by lots of moaning, groaning, and of course very colorful cursing from Sasuke, who naturally wanted to also murder Shisui for his distasteful tricks. They all knew Sasuke couldn't handle much alcohol, and they forced him to have shots after shots after shots.

By that evening, they were completely sober except for Sasuke, who was still nursing his headache. Itachi, on the other hand, had had enough and swore if this ever happened again, he'd murder his brothers for sure.

The next day, Itachi was on a warpath once again. It was entirely their fault that he was now as wet and cold as a drowned kitten and his laptop stuffed up. If Shisui and Izuna hadn't been fooling around near the railing on the lower deck of their two-million dollar, brand- spanking-new luxury yacht, trying to kill each other to get a peek at his new apartment plan, then he and his laptop wouldn't have gotten thrown off board into the ocean. Furthermore, if he wasn't such an excellent swimmer, since he'd been one of the best professional athlete swimmers during his late teens, he could have buried himself and his laptop deep under the ocean.

"I'm sure Obito can fix it," Shisui said coolly, throwing him a dry towel.

Itachi glared at his brother as the towel landed on his head, partially covering his handsome face and azure-blue eyes that were glinting with fire.

"Nope Can't fix it," Obito said matter-of-factly. "It's totally stuffed, bro. Better get a new one."

"Jesus! My work!" Itachi muttered, looking heavenward as he pulled down the towel. "It's not the laptop! It's my work!" he growled.

"Surely you have a backup, right?" Tobi, the youngest of the brothers, put in calmly from the other side of the pool.

"Of course, but—"

"Ah." Izuna butted in, putting down his martini. "Girlfriends."

"What?" Itachi snapped. He was at his limit and was ready to throw at least one of them into the ocean, and that person was preferably Shisui who was smiling cheekily on the other side of the pool a good distance away.

Shisui knew he was in trouble, and it was best for him to keep out of reach since Itachi had very powerful fists. After all, Shisui had seen too many times to count when perfectly good-looking faces got restructured into very distorted ones with a few of Itachi's mighty punches. Of course, Shisui didn't want his gorgeous face to be ruined, and what would he do without his handsome face and flirty smile? The girls wouldn't bed him, that was for sure, and Shisui would be very devastated indeed.

"He's pissed because all his girlfriends' photos are ruined," Izuna said matter-of-factly, emphasizing the word girlfriends as plural.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Itachi replied. Though he had to admit it was losing the photos that really pissed him off since he hadn't backed up some of the most recent ones on his hard drive.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Itachi," Sakura said, sitting across from him, her long, slender body posing elegantly on the poolside lounge. She knew she looked enticing wearing a two-piece bikini that barely covered her hot body, and she knew the brothers liked looking at her. _Oh hell!_ Who didn't want a body like hers? Even women envied her for her figure.

She tossed her long hair, dyed pink ever since it turned brown years ago, over her shoulder and leaned toward Itachi—the brother she'd always wanted. Only, so far, she'd never been able to grab his attention let alone his interest in her as a woman. In fact, all the brothers had always treated her like a sister, like they treated Sarada, which annoyed the hell out of her.

"He doesn't," Sarada butted in, pulling her slender body out of the water. She grabbed a towel resting on the side of the pool, wrapped it around her, and sat down beside Sakura.

"My poor brothers," she said. "When will you all get a nice girl and settle down? Aside from you, of course, Tobi, since you're still too young."

Tobi snorted at his sister to show her his annoyance and returned his attention to his tablet, playing the new, not-yet-released zombie game Obito and Sasuke had given him as a trial from their video game company, HD Game, Inc., which they had built themselves from scratch a year ago.

"Don't feel sorry for me, Sarada. I'm not ready to get tied down yet." Madara chuckled. "I like my freedom." He took a sip of his cocktail and then relaxed back on the poolside divan, gazing up at the sky above. "Twenty-eight is still too young to settle down," he murmured to himself.

"What about Dad's offer?" Sasuke asked. Madara raised his brows.

"Didn't he want you to take over Uchiha Group?" Itachi queried.

"He's ready to retire."

Madara sighed. Of course, all the brothers knew their dad had been asking him to take over the business, but Madara didn't feel he was ready to take on such a big job as CEO of their family empire, the Uchiha Group—aside from the fact that he had three of his own businesses to take care of, even though they were mostly online and his employees were outsourced.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," he said. "I'll take a look at it this spring and decide then."

"Aside from that," Sarada said, "none of you are bringing any girls home to meet Mom and Dad?" She turned to Obito. "Where's your girlfriend? What's her name? Judith or Julie or something?"

"We broke up," Obito snapped.

"He got dumped." Shisui gladly offered. This of course welcomed a death-ray glare from Obito.

"And you, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "What about Karin?"

Sasuke frowned at Sakura, telling her to piss off and mind her own business.

Sakura thought Sasuke's dislike of her had grown even more in these past few years. This frustrated and pissed her off because she couldn't understand why he was like that toward her. These feelings multiplied since she had a big crush on him. Well, she couldn't help herself, and what woman could? Especially with him looking like that… with raven-blue hair that always looked spiky at back. Then there were those mauve-black eyes of his, the type of color she'd never seen before on any person. Not to mention his tall, lean body—toned and well maintained via years of training and hard work. Any woman would want that body in her bed—Sakura included.

"He got dumped." Shisui supplied.

Sasuke grabbed a towel and threw it at Shisui. The force of the throw caused the towel to smack right on the side of Shisui's face. Instead of cursing, the older brother laughed and said, as he watched Sasuke walking past him toward the stairs that'd lead him up to the high-diving platform above, "Get over it, Sasuke boy. She'll come begging for you again like all of your other ex-girlfriends did."

Sasuke was over it. He was simply sick of women smothering him with what they thought was love but was in fact lust, clinginess, and jealousy. When he'd started dating this last one, Karin Uzumaki, he hadn't known it was one of Sarada's friends. If he had known, he wouldn't have gone out with the damn woman in the first place. As a matter of fact, he hadn't had a choice since the beginning. Sarada had cunningly gotten him drunk, and the next thing he knew, he was in bed with Karin. The next day, she practically moved in with him. Now he was only too glad to be rid of her. Well, more specifically, she had gotten rid of herself, since she hadn't been able to control herself from screwing another guy in their apartment, which he happened to witness by accident. Her reasoning? He hadn't had sex with her since that first night, and it had been five months. Then of course she had the gall to accuse him of being gay. He hadn't said a word—just coldly stared at her and then walked out again. The next day, he had texted her and told her it was over, and if she wanted to stay in the luxurious apartment, she could since he'd already paid the rent until the end of the year.

Now he felt as though a heavy burden had lifted off his chest. Standing there on the diving platform and gazing off into the endless blue horizon, he breathed in the salty ocean air. He closed his eyes, his handsome face serene, and then he jumped and expertly did a beautiful somersault as his body soared down into the pool below.

Sakura and Sarada applauded after Sasuke slipped into the water with barely a splash.

Izuna said, "Who wants another drink?"

Most shook their heads, and Sakura turned her attention to Itachi, now rubbing his wet, black hair with the towel, the one that he always wore in a ponytail. She admired his masculine body. She had to admit he had one of the best bodies she'd ever seen, with firm muscles and toned six-pack abs. What girl didn't want to run her fingers—oh ever so slowly—down those abs of his? And those crimson eyes, the color of the red moon, so vibrant they took a girl's breath away. She was sure if she dated him every woman would envy her. Of course, she was sure guys secretly envied him as well. Not to mention, he was very smart and rich and at only twenty-six years of age had accomplished so much. With his real estate business and investments going international, now he was planning to get another business up and running.

Deep down she was very glad all the brothers were still single because it made her feel special, like all those times when they'd been children when she was the center of their worlds. Now she wanted that again. She wanted all seven of them around her. But most of all, she wanted Itachi Uchiha. She wanted him to love her as a woman. She wanted him in her bed, making love to her and calling her sweetheart. But then again, she also wanted Sasuke—despite he was a year younger than her and didn't seem to have any interest in her whatsoever, which of course made the chasing even more exciting. _Oh God! The choices._ They were so hard to make, and she felt just like a kid in the candy shop.

Sakura grinned and lay back, feeling the warm sun on her skin. She had this whole spring to work on it. Sooner or later Itachi Uchiha—or Sasuke Uchiha, for that matter—would be hers.

"I can see Konoha from here," Sasuke said from the high-diving platform, drawing everyone's attention to the one and only town on Hidden Leaf Island that suddenly appeared in the distance.

It was a picturesque island with Mount Hidden Leaf standing grandly in the middle, the lush, green woods surrounding it and the historic, Victorian town securely nestled against its bosom to the west side. This was their hometown, had been the Uchiha's hometown since 1750 when the first generation had arrived from England and made this island theirs.

Sasuke felt his heart do a somersault, and an odd pain spread out across his chest. It wasn't physical pain, but a type of emotional pain he was sure he'd had before that was now buried deep within his heart, forgotten. Now it was there again, and he didn't have a clue why. He fisted his hands, feeling frustration building up within him as he watched the island getting bigger as the yacht sailed closer.

Itachi strode to the side of the deck and gazed out at the island in the distance.

Suddenly, he felt an odd thump in his chest, as if there were something on the island that made him pause, and he wondered why.

Not long after, the luxury yacht, the Lady Anne, came into the harbor of Hidden Leaf Island, and soon they were ready to drive home to Uchiha Mansion, which was located on the other side of the island, about twenty-five minutes' drive from town.

The brothers decided to split up into the two out of the three Mercedes-Benz they'd brought along in the yacht. Sakura and Sarada, on the other hand, decided they'd stay in town and do some shopping before driving home.

Once they were out of the busy, tourist-infested town, they pretty much had the road to themselves, and Shisui being Shisui went over the speed limit and, just to annoy Itachi, dangerously overtook his brother.

"He's being bloody childish," Itachi said under his breath.

"He wants to annoy you— _again_ ," Madara commented matter-of-factly, his attention on his tablet.

"Tell me when we get home." Tobi informed them before closing his eyes and making himself comfortable on the back seat, resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke grunted and shoved him back. "Oye, find another pillow."

Tobi pulled a face, made himself comfortable on the other side, and closed his eyes again.

Itachi frowned when both Shisui and Izuna waved at him, urging him to try to overtake them if he could.

"There they go again," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

Itachi wasn't taking the bait. He knew better than to get lured into his brother's trap. Then just when he thought it wouldn't get any more annoying, Shisui honked at him five times, waking up Tobi, who also got very annoyed.

"I think I want to kill him now," Tobi muttered, glaring at the car in front of them.

"Stay calm now. There's no need to be childish," Madara said, typing away on his tablet, pretty oblivious to his surroundings.

"I see trouble coming," Sasuke murmured under his breath, knowing very well how Itachi would respond to the challenge.

On cue, Itachi felt adrenaline rushing in his blood. He stomped his foot on the accelerator. He quickly changed lanes and overtook the black car in front of them with ease. When he saw the shocked look on Shisui's face, Itachi smiled with satisfaction and sped up even more. He laughed, knowing very well he had left his brothers in his dust once again.

"Good job, Itachi." Tobi chuckled.

"You guys still haven't grown up," Madara said under his breath.

"Better slow down, Itachi," Sasuke said, noting they were going way too fast.

A split second later, it happened. The car turned a corner onto a narrow road, which was covered by thick woods on both sides. Before he knew it, Itachi quickly stepped on the brake, his heart pounding with dread as the car headed straight toward the person who suddenly materialized as if out of the blue onto the middle of the road.

"Holy shit!" Tobi shrieked.

"Watch out!" Sasuke shouted

* * *

A/N: REVIEW.

Ned Zetsu will be hinata's well-wisher,Guardian, Guide and a parental figure. If you u want some one else to replace the role or have a suitable person to play the role please suggest and i will replace the character.

Thanks to: Andwhy1, Fumiko Kasajishi, Gaara Slapped My ass, Justmarly, winter rose-chan, Naruto and Fairy Tail, Splaaash-attack and 5 of the guest reviewers. I really appreciate your support.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

 **A Fate Encounter**

Hinata knew she had a fifty-fifty chance of living or dying once she saw the car heading straight at her. Before she had time to react, she felt herself smashing against hard metal and flying back, landing on the road. She had a moment of sheer panic, wondering if she'd live, when Doby ran to her and started barking at her and licking her hand with concern. Laying there motionless, she stared dazedly up at the sky through her hair covering her face, wondering if she was dead already. God, her head was spinning out of control and her body was aching something sorely.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Doby was still barking at her to get her attention, but she had no strength to response just yet. She needed to clear her head and get her bearing back first.

Before her, the brothers rushed out of the car, their stomachs flipping in dread as they wondered what the heck had just happened. Itachi, being the one responsible, had assumed the worst and wondered if he had just killed the girl even though he knew in his gut he'd stopped the car just in time. If he hit her at all, it was probably only slightly, which would have caused her to fall back like so. When he saw the slender body lying there motionless as if she was really dead, his adrenaline went into overdrive, and at lightning speed, he rushed to her, his mind buzzing with concern.

"Oh shit!" Tobi shrieked in dismay, his eyes intense on the girl before them. "You hit a girl, Itachi. You freaking hit a girl."

"I'm calling the ambulance." Madara dug into his backpack, searching for his cell phone.

Itachi, who was now kneeling beside Hinata, called out to her, his voice hoarse "Are you all right? Hey, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

When Hinata didn't response, Sasuke growled as he rushed over to them, his mind racing and his heart pounding with dread. "What do you think? You bloody hit her, for Christ's sake! She's probably unconscious."

Just then the other car drew up behind them, followed by, "Hey, what's the holdup?" from Shisui.

"Accident!" Tobi shouted back.

"What the hell!" Izuna muttered as they all got out of the car.

On the other side, Hinata, still oblivious to Itachi presence beside her, stroked her hair back from her face and managed to sit up. Doby jumped into her lap and asked her with his eyes if she was all right.

"I'm fine, Doby," she said, patting his head in reassurance. The dog whimpered at her and licked her hand.

Itachi sighed in relief when he heard she spoke, not to him but to the dog. "Are you all right?" he asked again, knowing she hadn't heard him the first time. When she didn't respond again, he assumed she still couldn't hear him and wrapped his hand around her slender arm to get her attention.

The moment she felt warm, strong masculine hand touching her, Hinata felt tingles of sensations rushing through her being, and she shivered at the alienated feelings. She held her breath as he continued to ask her questions she didn't want to answer.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Itachi asked insistently.

 _What the hell do you think?_ She wanted to shout at him _. You nearly killed me_ _with your reckless driving._

"I'm fine," she replied none too gently.

At this point, Sasuke was by Hinata's side opposite Itachi. He said, "Hey, how bad are you hurt? Let me see."

Hinata held her breath the moment Sasuke demanded her attention. _The voice!_ _Oh my gosh! The voice!_ She had the feeling she'd heard that voice before. Only now it was deeper and manlier and caused her stomach to flip and her heart to race.

She finally lifted her head and came face-to-face with a handsome young man with raven-blue hair and mauve-black eyes. Hinata held her breath as she stared at Sasuke, drowning herself in the depth of the unique color that once had looked at her with affection.

Sasuke felt his body go rigid and his heart skipped a couple of beats the moment he saw the dark-haired, lavender-eyed beauty that was their victim. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She literally took his breath away. Suddenly he felt the world swimming around him and something deep within him stirred, inching its way from within the locked chains that kept it imprisoned, preventing it from ever escaping. Then it happened. A soft, gentle voice echoed in his head. _Sasu! My dear Sasu!_

 _That voice! Whose voice is that? Why did it call to me? Why was it referring to me as "My dear Sasu?"_

Sasuke didn't have any answers to these burning questions that suddenly started swirling within his head.

Under his intense gaze, Hinata felt the heat rising steadily within her. Involuntarily, she trembled and quickly glanced away—only to meet Itachi's eyes. Instantly, she was lost in the crimson color.

Itachi too was staring at her. _Holy shit!_ was his thought the moment he had seen her face fully for the first time. She is a beautiful creature, all right.

"Itachi!" Madara called out.

"Is she all right?" Itachi finally managed to get his wits back and uttered, "I think so."

Hinata drew her arm away from Itachi's grasp and looked away, feeling his intense stare was beginning to unnerve her. She was hoping he'd walk away and leave her alone when the man gave her a fright by touching her again. He was in fact closer to her now. She could feel his warm breath against her skin and the heat of his large, masculine body against her small, soft one. Her whole body involuntarily squirmed deliciously under his touches. More than a little surprised at her own reaction to the man, she pushed him away, causing him to fall on his backside in surprise. Shisui laughed from the distance, and Itachi gritted his teeth, knowing his brother was enjoying his embarrassment.

"I'm only trying to help," he said to her.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Sasuke queried, his eyes still on her. "No broken bones?"

Hinata turned her attention to Sasuke and instantly felt her heart do another somersault. Any moment now, she thought, he'd recognized her. Any moment now, he'd remember who she was. The thought didn't sit well with her.

"How's that ambulance going, Madara?" Tobi asked his eldest brother, who was apparently still searching for his cell phone.

"It's in here somewhere," Madara muttered under his breath.

"If it were a serious accident," Tobi said, "she would have died by now."

Madara frowned. "What about your cell phone?"

"I'm fine. No need to call for an ambulance," Hinata said loudly.

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, moving his face even closer to her. _Shit!_ He could smell her—wildflowers and honeysuckle and something else. _Something sweet_. It tickled something nice and warm within his being. He loved it.

"Yes. I'm fine, thanks," she said firmly.

"No, I don't think you're fine until you're checked thoroughly," Itachi said, and without her consent, he scooped her into his arms.

Hinata gasped as she was being lifted in her adopted brother's strong, powerful arms. She was shocked. In fact, she was outraged. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him. "Put me down this instant!"

Itachi was so taken aback by her burst of outrage that he didn't know what to do. The other brothers, who had gathered behind Itachi, looked at one another. This was new, all right. Any other girl would have been over the moon if Itachi were to pick her up like that. But not this one. This one demanded he put her down— _immediately!_ What was even more odd was the fact that Itachi had willingly scooped her into his arm, which of course made the brothers suspicious—especially Shisui. They moved around to get a better look at their victim.

Itachi let go of her and stood up. He didn't know what to do since she had rejected his offer to help. He didn't want to touch her without her permission, nor did he want to walk away and leave her sitting there. Then he sensed his brothers gathering around him, and when their victim finally raised her face to them, he heard Shisui suck in his breath and say, "Holy smokes!"

Like moths attracted to a flame, the rest of the brothers saw the most enticing image they'd ever seen. This was, of course, instantly followed by sharp inhalations. Itachi wanted to hide the poor girl—who he thought was too pretty for her own good—from his brothers' prying eyes.

Hinata didn't like the fact that she had not only two of the Uchiha brothers but all seven of them to deal with. Itachi was still staring at her as if God himself had just descended from heaven. Madara looked so shocked to see a woman and a dog in the middle of nowhere that he couldn't speak. Shisui, Izuna, Obito, and Tobi just gawked at her as though they were watching a really interesting movie. _And Sasuke?_ Her heart jolted within her chest as she met his gaze again. Those eyes—so intense—were on her. She felt her body quivering and quickly glanced away.

Fully conscious of her predicament, she hugged Doby even tighter against her chest, unaware that in doing so she was enriching the men's experience of her beauty—with her sitting in such a position that the hem of her dress rested high on her thighs, showing off her slender legs. Not to mention the thin straps of her dress that had fallen down her arms, the material barely covering her breasts and hinting at just how beautiful they could be if she were naked.

Itachi had had enough. He couldn't take it anymore, with his brothers enjoying the poor girl in such a dire situation. He bent down to help her, his hand touching her arm once again. She gasped and pushed him away.

The brothers watched in shocked surprise because no female had ever pushed Itachi away. Girls flocked to him—as they did to all his brothers. It was the Uchiha charm, not to mention the mere fact that they were very good-looking. Women found them hot and would do anything to date them; even just getting close to them was a dream come true. But it was odd indeed that this young woman was pushing Itachi away. Did she not find him attractive? Or any of them for that matter?

Doby chose that moment to bark a friendly greeting to the intruders, sensing the seven men were only trying to help his poor master. Then, without ever consulting with Hinata whatsoever, he jumped out of her arms and into Itachi's.

"Hey." Itachi chuckled. "You're a friendly one, aren't you?" Then he glanced up, eyeing Hinata, who looked rather upset about the whole thing. "Unlike your owner."

Hinata noted that his eyes were glinting at her, which caused her heart to beat faster. She quickly looked away and began to gather her stuff that had flown out of her bag.

As she was doing this, they simply stood there and watched her. It wasn't the fact that they were heartless and didn't want to help, but it was because what they saw was preventing their male brains from performing their functions properly.

Hinata was bending over on her knees as she was gathering her camera, notebook, sketchbook, and coloring pencils. They could clearly see the enticing view of her cleavage, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then, once she was done, Hinata tossed back her tresses, seemingly in slow motion. It was like she was one of those models in the hair commercials Sakura longed to do.

Slowly, Hinata managed to get up and stood straight, her body sore all over.

She just couldn't believe it. None of these men helped her stand. Not when they had been younger, after they played tricks on her, and not even now. The thought brought forward a rush of anger, and she saw red.

She stared at them, one by one. First, there was Itachi with the typical Uchiha looks that dated back for generations and had caused many hearts to flutter recklessly and perhaps even swoon with longing. He was also way too tall, broad at the shoulders, and handsome for her liking. Not to mention the fact that he was wearing one of those studs in his left ear, the stone the same color as his eyes. It made him look like a rogue and way out of any girl's league.

Then there was Madara, so much like his father, Fugaku, who looked as though he could take on the world and would still come out on top with his leader-like demeanor.

Next was Shisui with his ridiculously handsome smile, the Prince of Flirt in the family. Hinata wondered how many females he had bedded already and how many hearts he had broken along the way.

The same went for Izuna with his very charming smile and devil-may-care manner. Hinata wouldn't be surprised if he had bedded at least a dozen women within the past few months.

Obito, the handsome Prince of Rebel, with features inherited from their mother's side of the family, had that rogue look about him that any good girl found extremely hard to resist. This was enhanced by the fact that he had one golden earring in his left ear. He looked like a bloody pirate—a very handsome one—and Hinata was sure any girl wouldn't mind being captured by him and imprisoned in his bed.

Then there was the handsome, mysterious Sasuke. Again, her heart decided to do an unwelcome somersault, which caused her to grit her teeth in annoyance . _Sasu! My Sasu!_ The sound kept echoing within her head. Hinata suppressed the urge to scream out just so the little voice would stop bothering her. Yes, the Prince of Darkness was staring at her now without recognition, as if he found her interesting. Hinata herself couldn't help staring back at him. God, his hair was spike and black. And those unique eyes of his that had always fascinated her, those eyes he inherited from his legendary great-great-grandmother, Hermoine Uchiha, who'd married the famous Draco Uchiha. Sasuke had that aloofness and darkness about him that any intelligent girl knew to avoid but couldn't resist and ended up falling crazily in love with him anyway.

Then there was nice, sincere Tobi. He had a cute, boyish, friendly smile any female, young or old, couldn't help falling for.

Then it hit her. _Oh my Gosh!_ They'd changed so much—grown so much—that the mere sight of all of them together took her breath away. Not to mention her neck was beginning to hurt because she had to tilt her head back to glare at them, conveying she was pissed with them. But none of them seemed to register that fact, however, and Hinata began to grow more annoyed. Then there was the way in which they looked at her, which caused her to shiver. There was this bizarre sensation rushing through her.

"Doby," she called.

The dog barked back at her.

"So that's his name? Doby?" Madara asked.

Doby barked again, which annoyed Hinata even more. When they got home, she thought she'd teach him a lesson that succumbing to the enemy was not something one should ever do to one's allies.

"Come on," she said, frowning at the dog for being disobedient all of a sudden. "It's time to go home."

Doby ignored her as Itachi started scratching his head. Doby's eyes glazed over as he stuck his tongue out in pleasure.

"Ah. You like that, don't you?" Itachi chuckled.

Shisui came forward and offered to help her. "Are you sure you can get home? We can give you a ride."

Hinata turned to him. The thought of sitting next to them in a car didn't sit well with her.

"I'll be fine, thank you," she said, reaching out for Doby. She took the dog from Itachi, turned on her heel, and began to walk away from them.

"There she goes," Tobi said, disappointment echoing in his voice.

Sasuke watched her go, his eyes intent on her slender form. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I suppose since I'm the one responsible…," he said, and without further ado, he was behind her and pulled her around gently by the arm.

Hinata gasped, and before she could protest, she was being lifted midair and into the arms of her adopted brother once again.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Taking you home," he replied calmly, heading back to the car. "I can at least do that much after I nearly killed you."

"I… I can walk home by myself!" she stammered. "I'm not hurt, as you can see. And you didn't kill me. I'm still breathing."

Itachi refused to respond to her logical argument and headed straight to the car.

"Why does he have to be the one to carry her?" Tobi asked no one in particular.

"Because he's responsible," Madara replied.

"I'm responsible," Shisui put in matter-of-factly. "I made him lose his cool back there so, yes, I'm responsible."

"Just shut up and get in the car," Itachi said to Shisui.

Hinata watched the brothers, who were still staring at her. She couldn't believe it! She just couldn't believe it! None of them remembered who she was. Not one of them. And here she was this close to them. She couldn't decide if she was disappointed or pleased with that realization.

Actually, she had decided. She'd run away as soon as Itachi put her down.

When he did put her in the back seat, however, Tobi quickly slid in beside her, followed by Izuna. Hence both of her exits were blocked, and she wanted to scream.

Madara got into the front seat followed by Itachi in the driver's seat.

Outside, Shisui chuckled merrily and slapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Looks like you're riding with us, bro."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously at Izuna, who had stolen his seat in the car. Izuna, however, didn't see the death ray his younger brother gave him because he was too busy trying to please their new acquaintance.

"So," Madara began charmingly once Itachi started the engine, "where do you live?"

Hinata panicked. _Oh God!_ What should she tell them? She couldn't possibly tell them she was living at Uchiha Mansion where they were heading, could she? Well, she could, but she refused to let them know she was Hinata, their adopted sister that they had entirely forgotten ever existed.

Suddenly, she realized all four of them were watching her, waiting for her answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just drive straight," she began. "It's a long, narrow road. Then when you get to the intersection, turn right and then left and then left again."

Tobi cocked his head to one side. "That's pretty close to Uchiha Mansion, isn't it?"

"Good," Itachi said with double meaning and started the engine.

"So what's your name?" Izuna asked, moving closer to her.

Hinata glared at him. "I don't tell strangers my name."

Izuna laughed and Tobi said, "We're not strangers. We're your neighbors. We live at Uchiha Mansion."

Hinata wanted to shout at him that she knew that. But of course she didn't, and she refused to pay them any more attention.

Doby looked up at her, sensing her unsettled emotions. He started whimpering at her and licking her hand. "It's all right, Doby," she said, patting his head. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Itachi countered. "You're in shock."

"I'm not in shock!" she retorted. "I'm afraid. How do you think I feel when all seven of you refuse to leave me alone and are now taking me for a drive?"

The moment she had said those words, realization dawned on them.

"Shit!" Itachi muttered under his breath.

Madara, always the calm and levelheaded one, turned to her and said, "As the eldest Uchiha brother, I take full responsibility for our unthinkable actions. I'm very sorry that we've frightened you. However, I guarantee you none of us meant you any harm. We want to see you home safe and sound."

Both Izuna and Tobi nodded furiously.

Hinata went quiet once she saw the sincerity in Madara's eyes. He reminded her so much of Dad Fugaku, and she couldn't help but relax. The brothers smiled when they saw she had accepted Madara's apology and promise. Doby stuck out his tongue then, pleased.

A few minutes later, the car turned at the intersection as Hinata had told them, but it also surprised them when the black car behind them turned as well, instead of going straight to Uchiha Mansion.

"What are they doing?" Itachi said under his breath.

Izuna laughed. "Shisui!"

Madara sighed. "He's interested."

Hinata didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about and pretty much didn't care. All she cared about now was whether Ned was home or not. If he was, then she hoped he wouldn't call out her name or, worse still, greet the brothers and tell them all about her.

"Is it just me or are there more cherry trees around here?" Tobi commented.

"It's nice," Madara said. "Though I don't remember ever seeing that many on the island before."

Hinata gazed out the window, watching the beautiful clouds of pink flowers in the air. "It's spring," she murmured.

"Cherry blossoms are beautiful," Itachi remarked. "Too bad we don't have them up at the house."

Hinata wanted to laugh. _Really? Not one cherry tree up at Uchiha Mansion?_

"I think we're here," Madara said, eyeing the small cottage ahead of them. It was a picture-perfect cottage with a pretty English garden full of roses, lavender, and honeysuckle.

"That's your house?" Tobi asked in awe. "It's pretty nice."

"No," Hinata said, meaning it wasn't her house. "Not really."

None of them paid any attention to the meaning of her words, however, and they all got out of the car. Tobi took care to aid her even if she didn't need help.

Shisui and Obito got out of the car as well since they didn't want to miss the chance to talk to Hinata again.

Sasuke stayed back, pretending to be busy with his phone, which he wasn't, and stole peeks at the beauty. _Who is she? Why did she look at me so intensely back_ _on the road?_ Her Lavender eyes stirred something deep within his soul, awakening him from his slumber. She seemed oddly familiar to him, yet her identity eluded him, and this frustrated Sasuke greatly.

Outside, Itachi frowned at Shisui. "Why the hell did you follow us?"

"You might get into an accident again," Shisui responded. "Seeing as though you're pretty reckless and irresponsible at driving." He turned to Hinata then, giving her a dashing smile that would make any young female's heart flutter with happiness. "My brothers didn't harass you, did they?"

Hinata cocked her head to one side. "No," she said. Then before they insisted on coming with her into Ned's house and perhaps even opting to stay for afternoon tea, because she knew they'd want to, she went on. "And thanks for the ride. Bye now."

Itachi was about to stop her, but she was quick and walked briskly away.

Hinata hoped they'd disappear before she got to the door because she didn't know whether Ned was home or not and whether the door was locked or not.

Izuna whistled. "That's one hot chick."

"Wonder what her name is," Tobi said, smiling pleasantly.

"Tobi! You like her!" Shisui chuckled.

"She's nice," he said. "Totally my type."

Itachi didn't like the sound of that and frowned at his brother. "You haven't got your career sorted out yet, young pup," he warned. "No time for girls."

"Plenty of time for girls," Tobi retorted. "I'm on my break, after all. Anyway, she's way too young for you guys."

"I like younger girls," Shisui said as they all headed back to the car.

"Wonder if she has a boyfriend," Obito murmured. "Hope not."

"Okay, boys, time to get going," Madara said, opening the door.

The brothers took their leave without ever seeing Hinata enter the house. In fact, she had disappeared around the corner while they'd been busy negotiating who got to ask her out on a date.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please Review. Let me know if You have any suggestion. New ideas are welcome.

 **Thanks to** those who added this story to their favorite and follow list.

 **Special thanks to** those who reviewed last chapter. I was very glad to read all your comments. Thank you all for taking you time to leave me reviews.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Itachi was forced to eat his own words when they stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the sight before them. The Uchiha Estate was in full bloom with cherry blossoms. Clouds of pink flowers stretched endlessly beyond them, and the road leading to the house was carpeted with pink petals.

"We don't have to go to Japan to see cherry blossoms in full season," Tobi said, smiling.

"It's nice," Madara remarked.

Itachi couldn't say a thing. Then a gust of wind swirled past, releasing a myriad of flowers from the trees, petals raining down on the car, some landing on the windscreen. He was too stunned to turn on the wiper and continued driving until they reached the front courtyard of the two-hundred-year-old stately mansion, which most foreigners liked to call the Grand Castle of Hidden Leaf Island, made of massive gray stone that had stood up against many winters.

The estate was immaculately maintained with lush, green lawn and neat, pretty flowerbeds their father loved. The grand water feature of cupids and fairies, their father's pride and joy, stood proudly in the middle of the courtyard for them to admire, though the brothers didn't notice it as they drove past.

"Phew!" Shisui voiced the moment he was out of the car. "We're finally here. Really need a drink."

"Non-alcoholic," Sasuke said, remembering the hangover he had yesterday.

Just then the housekeeper, Beth Zetsu, a plump woman with a stern look on her face, came out and screamed, "Oh My God!"

The brothers turned to look at her, surprised by her voice.

"Beth!" Izuna greeted. "Surprise!"

"My goodness! This is a very big surprise," Beth said. "Now I really have to get all your rooms ready."

Shisui chuckled. "As if that's hard for you."

"All seven of you, mind you," Beth replied. "And where's Miss Sarada and Sakura?"

The brothers started filing into the house, causing the two maids, who were busy carrying trays of savories into the drawing room, to come to a standstill. They were shocked and at the same time pleased to see them. They simply couldn't believe the handsome seven brothers were back. It was going to be an interesting and entertaining spring, all right.

Obito nodded at them, Izuna winked, and Shisui blew them a kiss. Madara just shook his head at his brothers' flirtatious nature and followed them into the drawing room, followed by Tobi, who gave the maids a friendly wave and smile. Sasuke—darkly handsome and totally hot with his _I don't give a shit_ _about the world_ look—nearly sent the girls to Nirvana. He glanced at them, which caused the maids' hearts to flutter with joy and their knees to turn into jelly.

"He's so handsome," Anna, with red hair and massive freckles on her face, said dreamily, her voice quivering with delight. The other maid, Helen, nodded in agreement, her eyes large with love as they followed Sasuke strolling into the drawing room.

Itachi was the last to enter through the immense double door. When the girls saw him, they nearly dropped their trays because he was so gorgeous, just like a dark angel with Black hair and crimson eyes.

Itachi didn't pay them any mind and in fact didn't even see them. He headed straight into the drawing room to see his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, hugging and kissing her sons.

"You boys have changed so much since I last saw you," she said, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, come now, Aunt," Hana Inuzuka, the bride-to-be, said from the other side of the room. "It couldn't have been that long." She turned to Itachi. "What happened? I heard you caused an accident."

That was fast. Itachi eyed Shisui, who winked at him. "Just a minor accident," he said mildly.

"Minor?" Tobi stated loudly from the other side of the room. "You nearly killed her!"

"You'll have a lot to answer for if you did hurt her, you know," Shisui said.

"Don't scare your brother, Shisui," Mikoto said, coming over to Itachi.

"Now give me a kiss," she demanded, tiptoeing so her cheek could reach his massive height.

"No sooner than you're all here, there's trouble," Fugaku Uchiha said at the door. At nearly sixty years of age, he still looked amazingly handsome, with a tall, lean body and charming, aristocratic demeanor. His eyes were still as sharp as ever and his wit even sharper.

He sat on the sofa near the window and grinned. Madara came to sit next to him. Side by side, they looked almost identical, except Madara was a younger version, and Fugaku had more lines on his face and a head full of gray hair instead of black.

Finally, trays of savories arrived. The two maids nervously put them down on the coffee table. A moment later, Beth came in with coffee.

"Thank God," Tobi said, pouring himself a cup.

Fugaku looked none too pleased at the coffee. Mikoto chuckled, and Beth noticed Fugaku's dark frown.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Uchiha," Beth said, "but it's standard coffee this afternoon."

Fugaku sighed. "Well, there's always tonight."

The brothers didn't have a clue as to why their father was upset about the coffee. It didn't taste half-bad.

"We're expecting your grandparents for dinner tonight," Mikoto announced to her sons.

"Yeah!" Tobi remarked. "I haven't seen them for ages."

"I suppose I better inform Hinata to prepare for seven more," Beth muttered to herself before she left the room. No one was paying any attention to her mentioning the name " _Hinata_ " as they continued to enjoy their afternoon tea.

"So, Hana, where's Utakata?" Obito asked.

Hana put down her cup of tea and turned to look at her cousin.

"Coming on Friday," she said. "With Kiba."

"Kiba?" Shisui asked. "Haven't seen that flirt for ages."

"He's not a flirt." Hana defended her brother.

Shisui chuckled. "Come to think of it, you're right. He's not. He's so lousy at flirting that it's not flirting. Has he got a girl yet?"

"Ask him yourself when he's here," Hana said.

"Will do," Shisui replied, smiling.

"Mom, Dad, and Utakata's parents will be here next Wednesday," Hana said. "Hope the weather is going to be nice on my wedding day."

Izuna waved her worry aside with a flick of his hand. "It'll be fine. By the way, why spring? Why here on Leaf Island?"

"What do you mean?" Hana raised her brows.

"What he means is," Sasuke said from where he stood near the window, his eyes fixed on the countless cherry trees outside, "why get married here in spring?"

"Yeah, why here and why spring?" Obito asked, curious. "Don't all you girls want to get married in summer when the weather is perfect?"

Hana chuckled. "I asked myself those questions many times, too. Why here on Leaf Island. Why in spring?" She turned to look at her cousins who were waiting for her answers. "I suppose I have to blame it on my dear friend. She's the one who started it off when we were in high school. Always going on about how beautiful it is here in spring. Then when I saw it a couple of years ago, I knew I just had to get married here in spring."

"I see what you mean," Sasuke said. Because at that moment he had his back to everyone, they didn't see his face soften with understanding, nor did they see the slight smile on his lips and the peaceful look in his eyes as he gazed at the clouds of cherry trees outside. Yes, he loved them, for they brought forward a sense of joy that he desperately needed. The beautiful sight and exotic scent reminded him of something lovely, wonderful, and warm. Yet there was pain as well. For the life of him, however, he couldn't think of why.

"Mom?" Tobi suddenly called to his mother. "Do you know who lives in that cottage down the road?"

The moment he said that, his brothers turned their undivided attention to their mother.

Mikoto cocked her head to one side at the sudden interest from her sons. "Down the road? You mean the cottage?"

"Hmm." Tobi nodded.

"Ned Zetsu," Fugaku said.

"You mean Beth's younger brother?" Itachi asked after taking a sip of his bland coffee.

"Yes," Mikoto said. "He lives there. Why do you want to know?"

Tobi laughed uneasily. "No reason." He returned to his coffee. So did his brothers when they realized their parents were looking at them oddly.

* * *

Hinata decided it was the brothers' fault she had to take the long way home. Tired, thirsty, and her body aching, she still had to walk through this tiny, treacherous pathway that wasn't really a pathway via the woods to get to Uchiha Estate. Normally she didn't mind, but this time she really did mind. After all, she'd been hit by a car. And yes, that was entirely their fault too.

She grumbled to herself and cursed them again. Oh yes, she was sure they'd be very comfortable indeed right now, sitting in the lounge and drinking that horrible coffee Beth would have prepared for them. Not to mention her very own mini-sandwiches, scones, muffins, and slices she had made this morning. She groaned depressingly. She couldn't believe they'd be eating the food she prepared.

Once she reached Uchiha Mansion some half an hour later, she was sweating like a pig, her face was covered with dirt, and her hair was a mess. She sneaked into the kitchen—hoping like hell she wouldn't bump into any of the brothers—when she was greeted with a, "Where have you been? Mr. Uchiha was looking all over for you."

Hinata jumped, her heart nearly dropping to her shoes. "Beth! Why do you have to shout?"

The housekeeper cocked her head to one side. "Oh! I wasn't aware I was shouting," the woman said, giving her a smile. Then she went on with her mumbling, "Those two maids became useless the moment the brothers arrived."

Hinata knew very well what Beth meant. Any female, aside from her, would become useless the moment she set her eyes on the brothers.

"I was out for a bit, taking photos. I thought I told everyone," she said, giving the housekeeper a sunny smile. Doby rushed past her feet and raced to his water bowl on the other side of the kitchen. He thirstily licked the water to his heart's content.

Hinata, too, was deadly thirsty. She opened the fridge door and poured herself a good cup of apple juice. Once she'd finished, she sighed and said, "Ah… that was good."

On the other side of the kitchen, Beth opened the oven door and pulled out the tray of chocolate biscuits that had just been baked. Hinata couldn't help herself. She rushed over and snaffled one. She popped the hot piece into her mouth and sighed with pleasure. "You're the best. I'm starved."

"Who told you to go out for so long? You didn't have lunch either," Beth grumbled. "Go and eat properly in the drawing room like everyone else. Jesus! No wonder you're so thin."

Hinata chuckled. "That's okay. I'll eat here."

"Hinata, do go and eat with your brothers," Beth said with a no-nonsense tone.

 _Brothers, eh?_ Hinata's heart skipped a beat at the mentioning of the seven Uchiha siblings. The images of the men back on the road flashed before her eyes.

"Come along now," Beth said, grabbing for another tray of sandwiches. "Mr. Uchiha wants you to meet them. Not that you haven't met them before. But you haven't seen them for a while now, haven't you. To be frank, I haven't either. But oh, you should see them now. Handsome men they are."

Hinata thought sourly she could go without seeing them for another five to ten years. In fact, she'd preferred if it was for the rest of her life. Wouldn't that be great?

To the housekeeper, she smiled sweetly and said, "I'll come right along in a bit, Beth. I just need to clean up. After all, I can hardly present myself in this state." She purposely took a step forward for Beth to see her in her full glory of sweat, dirt, and mess. After all, she had been passing through the woods on her way back, and it couldn't be helped that she now looked like a female Tarzan who had been surviving in the woods for years on end.

Beth shook her head. "You're still as wild as ever. What will they say when they see you in such a state? All right then, but don't be too long," the housekeeper said, walking out the door with a tray in her hand. "Oh, by the way, we'll be serving seven more now."

Hinata sighed. _Of course_.

Once the housekeeper was gone, she made quick work of her escape. She took out the extra pounds of pork, marinated it with her special marinade and then scribbled on a piece of yellow Post-it note the cooking instructions for Beth. Then she grabbed a large tray and tossed on some chocolate biscuits, mini-sandwiches, muffins, and an apple and a bunch of red grapes. After that, she grabbed a bottle of apple juice and a glass and then rushed off to the back stairs where she was sure no one would see her. Doby, the loyal little pup that he was, followed closely behind quietly.

She hid in her room that night, working on her photos and putting them up for sale on her website. Now and again, she munched up her snacks to her heart's content, tossing a wee bit for Doby to enjoy. It was just a little after six o'clock when she heard them all raiding up the stairs onto the second floor.

 _Holy smokes!_ She'd just remembered that all the brothers' bedrooms were on the same floor as hers. Her hands froze before the keyboard as her heart continued to pound outrageously fast. She turned to stare at the door, hoping they wouldn't open hers by accident. Surely, dear God, they remembered their own bedrooms and wouldn't randomly walk into hers, which of course was at the very far end of the house.

"That was the best afternoon tea I've had in a long time," she heard Izuna say.

"You have afternoon tea?" Itachi asked.

"Can't wait for dinner," Tobi said. "I heard there's roast pork."

"Need a shower," Sasuke stated.

Hinata sensed they were getting closer to her room now and that something wasn't right. Her body tensed up. She glanced at Doby, who was looking at her in confusion, wondering what was wrong with her.

 _Woof!_

She wanted to die.

"What was that?" Madara uttered.

"What?" Shisui asked.

"I thought I heard something," Madara replied.

"You're going senile, old man," Shisui said. "Hearing things."

Hinata put a finger to her lips, telling Doby to be quiet. Doby cocked his head to one side, still confused.

Suddenly, Hinata heard footsteps coming toward her door. Before all hell broke loose, she raced to the door and quickly locked it. An instant later, the doorknob wriggled as if someone were trying to open it.

"It's locked," Itachi muttered.

"Of course it's locked," Madara said. "No one stays there."

"You got the wrong room, handsome boy," Shisui shouted. "Your room is next door."

A few moments later, the hallway was quiet again, and Hinata sighed with relief.

"Oh God," she muttered under her breath. "Way too many surprises in one day."

About half an hour later, she heard them leaving their rooms one by one to go down for dinner, and it was only then she was able to fully relax. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Mikoto knocked on her door sometime after that.

"Hinata, sweetheart, you're not coming down for dinner?" Mikoto queried from the other side.

Hinata rushed to open the door and said, "Hi, Mom. Sorry, I have a really bad headache. Mind if I stay in bed?" she asked, feigning sickness.

"Then take some aspirin and rest. I'll tell Beth to bring something up for you. You know you should look after yourself more. You should just relax. You're on holiday, after all."

"I know," Hinata said. But then again, she needed to make as much money as soon as possible if she wanted to travel to Japan and find her biological mother. After all, she had no idea when her travelling would end or how much it would cost.

"I know how independent you are about money, and I know how much you want to go to Japan, but you still have to look after yourself," Mikoto said as if she were reading her mind.

"Yes, I know," Hinata said.

"All right. Your brothers are here, by the way."

Hinata bit her lip. _I know. I've met them_.

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow to greet them," Mikoto commented. "And Dale and Molly were hoping to see you tonight."

"I can come down and see them in town tomorrow," Hinata suggested happily.

"Yes, they'd love that. You get better," Mikoto said and then gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Okay," Hinata murmured. Once Mikoto left, she closed the door and went to take a long, hot bath. Some ten minutes later, lying in the big tub with warm water and bubbles up to her neck, Hinata stared up at the ceiling, thinking.

"They're eating my roast pork," she murmured to herself. Then she glanced at Doby, who obediently sat there waiting for her to finish. She sat up and reached out to pat him on the head. "I hope they choke."

* * *

The brothers loved it. They absolutely loved the roast pork—and of course none of them choked. Shisui, Izuna, and Obito couldn't help chomping down the delicious, soft morsel and then grabbed for more.

"There's still dessert," Hana said from across the table, smiling.

"You'll have to visit home more often to get a proper feed, boys," Molly, their grandmother, said.

Obito nodded his head, his mouth full.

"Or we could just take Beth with us." Sasuke suggested.

Fugaku and Mikoto glanced at each other, and Dale, the brothers' grandfather, laughed.

Beth cleared her throat and said, "Unfortunately, Master Sasuke, I still wouldn't be able to cook you such nice roast because I wasn't the one who prepared that roast. Although, I sort of did, since the person responsible happened to be sick all of a sudden. But that was only via specific instructions."

"New chef, then?" Tobi put in. "Finally, we have decent food to eat. Not that yours isn't that good, Beth. Your baking is the best in the world. I especially love your chocolate brownies."

"Understandable, Master Tobi," Beth replied, hiding a smile.

"That roast pork was meant for Dale and Molly," Mikoto said.

"Prepared by one of my favorite girls," Molly added.

"Who unfortunately couldn't join us," Fugaku muttered, frowning.

"Is she unwell?" Dale asked.

"Headache," Mikoto said. "She'll be fine."

Fugaku's frown darkened. "Standard coffee again, I suppose, Beth?" he asked the housekeeper.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Uchiha," Beth replied.

Fugaku sighed in resignation at the answer. Itachi and Madara glanced at each other, wondering who this new chef was and why their father was so against standard coffee.

Fugaku, on the other hand, blamed his seven sons for showing up three days early. If it weren't for them, he would be having his delicious coffee after dinner. He knew exactly why his adopted daughter Hinata refused to come down. It was because of his sons. He knew she'd never felt comfortable around them, and the brothers had never really acknowledged her as their sister as they had with Sarada and Sakura. At first, he was afraid his judgment had been wrong, that he'd adopted a criminal into his house. But after months of trying with his gentle words and kind smile, little Hinata had come out of her shell one rainy night after she'd screamed in her sleep. Itachi had alerted him, and he rushed to her bedroom to find her whimpering in the corner of the closet. It still broke his heart even now to think about that night.

" _Do you really love me?" she had asked him, tears in her eyes._

 _Gently, he had drawn her into his arms and hugged her tight. "Of course I do," he said. "With all my heart."_

 _She had looked up at him, her small lips quivering. As if he'd said the golden word itself, she'd tightened her small arms around him and cried her wee heart out. "Then you must only love me in secret," she said. "Please love them more. My new brothers and sisters, I mean. I do not want to see them get hurt because of me. I love you. You won't kick me out, will you? Please, I didn't burn the orphanage down. I really didn't. I didn't kill Mrs. Haruno. I really didn't."_

" _I know. I know," he'd said, rocking her in his arms. "I won't let you go. You're my daughter now."_

" _Thank you," she sobbed._

It had been much later when he found out the meaning of Hinata's words. His own children, Sakura included, had been treating Hinata unfairly. The little girl believed that if he and Mikoto didn't show any sign of love toward her, then her new brothers and sisters wouldn't hurt her. Of course, Fugaku would never tolerate such malicious behavior from his children and had taken the bull by the horns by setting them straight and telling them he wouldn't take such nonsense from them and was indeed very disappointed. They were the Uchiha's, after all, and should set good examples to the public.

Fugaku had known his sons were smart, and true to his thinking, by the end of the month, he'd decided the lesson was very effective indeed. Perhaps it had been too effective because the boys began to ignore Hinata completely, to the point that she no longer existed in their lives.

Fugaku put down his knife and fork, knowing very well he'd have to talk with Hinata later tonight. After all, she couldn't very well hide away in her room for the next few weeks when everyone was here preparing for Hana's wedding.

He turned his attention to his sons, eyeing them from one to another. They were all enjoying their meal to the max, and of course, he wasn't at all surprised they didn't pay any attention as to who had been responsible for preparing their meal.

After the dinner, they retired to the drawing room where Beth served them standard coffee and tea. Fugaku looked as though he was about to balk as Beth gave him a cup, and the brothers wanted to laugh.

"It's not half-bad," Obito said, taking a sip.

"I too was looking forward to the coffee," Dale commented, and Molly shook her head.

It was a bit later that the brothers decided they needed a walk to work off their big meal and headed out to the pond to the north of the house near the woods. It was amazingly beautiful as the brothers took in the scenery. The pond was surrounded by cherry, magnolia, and other trees native to the island. The moon was high above on the horizon, reflecting on the glassy water. The air was warm and breezy, and now and again, native life stirred in the distance.

"I forgot how quiet and peaceful it is here," Sasuke said softly, gazing up at the moon. He realized then that this was the place he wanted to be, the place he belonged. Yes, he needed peace and quiet. He needed solitude.

Madara remarked. "Beautiful scenery. I can't believe it's in our backyard."

"Dad must have hired a new gardener," Izuna said. "As well as a new chef."

"That was the best meal ever!" Tobi shouted out into the night, stretching his arms out as if he were on top of the world.

"You always eat too much," Shisui commented, gazing off at the night stars above.

"Speak for yourself." Izuna chuckled.

"Speaking of which…," Madara said suddenly. "Sarada and Sakura haven't arrived yet." There was a note of concern in his voice that the brothers couldn't miss.

"Probably enjoying their time in town," Izuna said. "Not that there's much in town here."

"Should probably shoot them a text or something." Itachi suggested.

"Yeah," Madara said and pulled out his phone.

Izuna came up and hooked his arm around Shisui's neck. "So what happened to your girlfriend?"

Shisui frowned at his brother and naturally told him to bugger off.

"Come on," Izuna egged his brother on. "I'm your brother and best friend."

Shisui couldn't deny that Izuna was his brother as well as his best friend and therefore felt it only right he tell him what had happened. "We broke up."

"Is that why you chose to crash at my apartment and drink yourself stupid? To celebrate your single life again?" Itachi asked none too gently.

Shisui managed to look rather sorry for what he'd done. "Yeah. Really sorry about those paintings, bro."

Itachi just shook his head since he didn't have anything else to say.

"She was hot," Izuna said.

"She was too clingy," Shisui muttered.

"So… about that girl today," Tobi blurted out.

The brothers knew instantly whom he was talking about. It was hard to get the image of the young woman out of their minds, for God's sake. Especially for Itachi and Sasuke since they'd been the ones who had the most interaction with her.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Itachi asked.

"What?" Madara queried.

"Listen."

The brothers went quiet, and then they heard it. It was a dog barking, and it was getting closer. They searched around them, and then out of the blue a little West Highland white terrier appeared.

The dog ran up to the men's feet and stopped. He dropped something onto the ground, stood on his hind legs, and stuck his tongue out at Izuna.

Izuna crouched down and stroked the dog's head. "Isn't that…"

He didn't have to finish the sentence because they all knew what he meant, and instantly they circled around Doby, who seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention.

Madara picked him up and chuckled. "What are you doing here at this time of the night?"

"If he's here…," Tobi said.

"Then his owner…" Shisui continued the sentence. On cue, the musical voice they expected to hear came.

"Doby? Doby? Where are you? Come out now. You're grounded, mister!"

They waited expectedly for the owner of the dog to appear, but they didn't expect her to appear like that.

She was dressed in a lacy pink nightdress—flimsy and short—showing off her very fine figure. With her tresses down and wet and her feet bare, she looked like some sort of wood nymph that they happened upon in the night.

The brothers couldn't stop staring at her.

Hinata didn't expect her dog to be surrounded by seven men in the middle of the night and in the woods near the house too. She was too shocked to say anything. In fact, she was too shocked to do anything. Then, when she was aware they were staring at her and she was in a near-naked state, she hastily turned on her heel, intending to rush back. But because she was confused, shocked, nervous, and totally out of her wits, she stumbled and fell flat on her face.

The brothers—except for Sasuke—acted in accordance to their manly behavior. They rushed to save the damsel in distress. Since Itachi was the closest to her, he got there first. He pulled her into his arms and asked her if she was all right. Hinata, however, was too shocked to reply. Izuna helped her legs out of the vines, finally allowing Itachi to lift her up.

Hinata wanted to die rather than live through the humiliation of all seven brothers seeing her in such a state. Itachi laid her down and Doby rushed to her, barking loudly.

"I'm fine, Doby. I'm fine," she said. Then she glanced up at Itachi, who looked rather concerned about her well-being. She turned to Madara.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"How did you get here?" Izuna queried.

Sasuke stood rigid, watching the scene before him, his heart thumping too hard for his liking. He bloody well didn't like the fact that his brothers were showing too much concern and interest in the girl before them. He had the urge to barge in, scoop her up in his arms, and take her far away. It was a stupid notion, of course, and Sasuke had never been stupid.

Hinata, on the other side, felt her heart beating way too fast for her liking to be surrounded by the brothers again. She hugged Doby even tighter against her chest and bit her lip. Oh God! She needed to get out of here. _Now!_

She hastily got up and said, "Thanks for finding my dog," and ran back the way she came.

They watched her go, unable to hide their disappointment.

"We didn't ask for her name," Tobi said.

"How did she get here wearing that?" Obito asked no one in particular.

"She lives in the cottage just down the road, remember?" Madara reasoned. "Otherwise, she wouldn't be wearing…" He left the sentence unfinished because, to be honest, he couldn't come up with an explanation himself.

The brothers decided they'd had enough for the day and started to wander back to the house. Tobi picked up the thing Doby had dropped and found it was a memory stick.

"I think this belongs to her," he said to his brothers.

"We'll have to give it back," Itachi suggested.

"Yeah." Tobi nodded, smiling broadly.

* * *

 _Sasu! Sasu! Laughter. Sasuke could hear beautiful laughter singing and echoing all around him, calling out to him. The voice was soft and musical, and it sent a nice, warm sensation throughout his body. In his state of haziness, he could see long, black hair dancing in the wind, the strands brushing gently on his face. He could feel warm, small hands within his grasp, tightening as if the owner of that lovely hand was afraid he'd disappear._

 _He was in a dream, Sasuke realized, and he was lying down on the ground, his long, lean body across and his head resting on someone's lap. It was a very comfortable lap. Above him, he could see millions of cherry blossom petals raining down on him from a massive tree of pink cloud. Some landed on his face. They were feathery soft and cool on his skin. He could smell the light, beautiful scent, and it reminded him of spring. Oddly enough, he felt at peace. He felt happy. And there was something else, too. Yes, he felt loved. So much love._

 _He turned to look at the girl who was now stroking his hair. He frowned, for he couldn't see her face. The harder he looked, the darker her face seemed to become. Who was she? Why did she make him feel like this? Why did she make him feel so much warmth and so much love?_

" _Snow? Why do cherry blossoms fall?" The words came out of his mouth before he knew it. He gazed long and hard at her, trying to make out her features, but it was to no avail. She was faceless to him._

 _She turned to look at him. Though he couldn't see her, he knew she was beautiful. He could also sense she was smiling at him. It was as though she were amused at his stupid question, and rather than annoyed, she was pleased._

" _They are the tears of spring, Sasu, the tears of spring," she replied as she gazed up at the swirling flowers surrounding them._

 _Sasuke felt satisfied. He nodded and closed his eyes, intending to return to his slumber. Then he sensed it, her face slowly descending toward him. A second later, he felt her warm breath fanning over his skin, and he knew she was smiling. He waited longingly, his nerves jumping in anticipation. He felt her soft, warm lips pressing against his cheek, causing tingling sensations to rush through his being and his world to burst with bright neon colors._

Sasuke flashed his eyes open. He came to see only darkness. There wasn't any cherry tree around nor was there a girl near him. For a moment he panicked. _I've lost her_ , he thought with dread. Where did she go? He felt his heart thumping loud and hard within his chest.

He sat up, frowning, confused, and then he realized it was merely a dream—an elusive dream he could not grasp. Gently, he touched his finger to his cheek, and his frown darkened.

 _Snow!_ The word kept echoing within his head. _Snow! What is snow? Why snow?_

Then something struck him, and he rushed out of bed. He went into the walk-in closet and raided his luggage. A moment later, he found what he was looking for. It was a poster he had made a couple of months ago. And why he had brought it along with him to St. Leaf Island was beyond him.

He unfolded the large paper and laid it out on his bed. There it was, a digital artwork of a dark knight and a maiden. She was a beautiful creature all right—with blackest hair, palest skin, and reddest lips. _She was Snow White._

Sasuke didn't understand the connection between the dream he'd just had and this artwork he'd created a few months ago. Perhaps it really meant nothing at all, and he decided to brush it aside. Perhaps it was just seeing the cherry trees here on St. Leaf Island that had triggered the dream. After all, there was that massive cherry tree in full bloom of pink flowers in the background of the poster. Yes, that was probably it. _And the girl in his dream?_ She must be Snow White from the poster. Of course it had to be, and that made total sense.

But why did he feel so lost when he'd woken up to find Snow gone? Why did he feel as though he were missing half of his soul?

He stood, picked up the poster, and hung it on the wall opposite his bed. He had just finished and was getting back into bed when he heard noises from outside along the corridor. It was Sarada and Sakura, who had just returned from their night clubbing.

Only for two weeks, he thought, he had to endure Sakura's presence. After the wedding, he'd be out of here and back to his loft in New York, spending his precious time working on his game design. He glanced up at the poster again before closing his eyes, the image of the dark knight and Snow bright in his mind.

* * *

The two people Hinata didn't want to see most, Sakura and Sarada, finally arrived at half past four the next morning, waking Hinata from her very weird dream. In the dream, she was surrounded by seven faceless men. Of course, these people were always faceless in dreams, though her gut instinct seemed to know who they were.

Her stomach flipped and she sighed. She couldn't believe she had to dream about the brothers. What was wrong with her? Not to mention the fact that one of them had kissed her. She thought it must have been Itachi. Or was it Sasuke? Tobi?

 _That is totally stupid_ , she told herself firmly. It didn't matter, however, because it was only a dream, and she was determined not to think about it any further.

She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep when she heard Sakura and Sarada giggling across the hallway and singing loudly before finally getting into their own rooms. Hinata was pretty sure the two women must be pretty drunk since they both loved to drink. Once the house was quiet again, she was able to slip back to sleep. This time there was no dream, and she was glad.

About two hours later, Hinata found herself lying there in her double bed, staring up at the chandelier, her stomach flipping and her heart racing uncomfortably. Soon, she'd have to actually face the brothers, since Daddy Fugaku had made sure of that. He'd found her in the library at just before midnight last night, once everyone had retired. He scolded her that she should have been out there having dinner with her grandparents and brothers, not feigning sickness. _Damn him,_ she thought. He had known all along.

 _Ah! Brothers?_ Brothers, her backside! Brothers who didn't remember her. Brothers who didn't recognize her when they were _that_ close to her?

Her stomach flipped again at the thought of what happened yesterday afternoon. She couldn't believe she had to meet them that way. Then she remembered how Sasuke had looked at her, remembered his eyes boring into hers. She shivered at the image and shook her head.

She sat up, and Doby jumped onto her lap. "What will happen today, Doby? What am I going to do?"

The dog barked at her excitedly. Then the door flung open, and Hana marched right in.

"Heard you weren't well," she said, almost in a sheer panic. "I didn't want to bother you last night, but it's morning now so I thought it should be fine. Oh shit! You're going to be all right for Fuka's birthday party, right? Shino will be there so you have to come. You have to look pretty."

"Hana," Hinata said, "just because he's your brother's friend and he had a crush on you years ago and now you're getting married to another man, you don't have to feel that you need to match him with me."

"No. No, he really likes you," Hana said adamantly. "He really does. Now get up and shower because I'm going to make you look pretty."

"I'll be fine. You should make yourself look pretty since you're going to be the center of attention soon."

"Jesus, woman, it's not my wedding yet. It's Fuka's birthday party, Mr. Mayor's daughter, who's turning the ripe old age of eighteen. Besides, you don't want to embarrass the Uchiha family. A lot of important people are coming."

"Oh crap! Important people, eh?" Hinata asked cheekily.

"Of course," Hana said. "Now shower!"

"All right. All right." Hinata chuckled. "I'm going to shower. Be back in a minute."

"Don't worry. Take your time," Hana said.

Ten minutes later, Hinata was back and Hana began blow-drying her long hair and then curled it.

"You know it's only a lunch thing," Hinata said. "And besides, we don't want to look prettier than the birthday girl, do we?"

"Of course not," Hana replied. "Just want you to look good for Shino." Then she silently added with a smile on her face, Good enough to _eat_.

Hinata chuckled. "It's a good thing I'm going." Of course she didn't hear the last bit.

"Right you are," Hana said, tossing back Hinata's long curls.

What Hinata really meant was that she didn't have to see the brothers again today after all, since the birthday party would probably last until late evening, and then after that, she'd make some excuses to go and stay in town for a few nights with Mei. Her friend's husband Kimimaro, after all, was away to New York on his business trip and wouldn't be back until Friday, so it wouldn't be that inconvenient. And little Ryuu would just love to have her around.

Hmm? What kind of excuse, though? The café is short-handed and they need her help? Yes, that sounded rather good. That meant she'd have to give Mei, her co-owner of the café, a call and tell her to play along.

Fifteen minutes later, she was done. Hinata looked at herself in the mirror one last time before heading out.

"You look amazing," Hana said. "Shino is so going to like you in that."

Hinata admitted she did look rather nice with her hair in big, loose curls, and the pretty lilac cotton and lace dress fit her body to perfection though she thought it showed a bit too much of her skin.

Hana cocked her head to one side as she studied Hinata's chest. "I can't believe I haven't noticed you have the most amazing breasts ever. Do you realize most celebrities would kill just to have those? I mean, they have to go under the knife at least three or four times to get them to that perfect."

Hinata chuckled. She wasn't really aware that her breasts were ever perfect. Her mind had always been too occupied with other interesting things.

"All right. Time to go down," Hana said, heading out the door, pulling Hinata along by the hand.

They both came into the kitchen, and Mikoto greeted them with an, "Oh my! You girls look great."

"Morning," Hinata said, giving Mikoto a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning, my sweet girls," Mikoto said, hugging Hinata tightly. Then she moved over to hug Hana. "Don't you think she looks pretty?"

Hana nodded. "Shino," she whispered.

Mikoto smiled and nodded. "Oh. Of course."

"What are you two on about?" Hinata couldn't help but ask after she'd noted they looked as though they were conspiring about something.

"Nothing," Mikoto said.

"Ah, Hinata, Mr. Uchiha is looking for you," Beth said. "Have you had your breakfast yet?"

"Nope. Thought I'd eat here first before heading out," she said and poured herself a cup of tea.

"I'm going to phone Utakata," Hana announced.

Hinata waved to her friend to leave. She knew Hana was missing her fiancé already. _It must be nice to be in love_ , she thought with a smile. She grabbed a scone and began to munch. _But maybe not as nice as this delicious scone_.

"I'm hoping to see at least one of my grandchildren getting married soon, you know," Molly said as she came into the kitchen. Hinata nearly choked on her pastry.

"Molly," Hinata said. "Good morning. When did you get here?"

"We stayed the night, naturally," Molly replied. "Since Dale really wanted that coffee." She was teasing of course. They had finished very late last night, Fugaku and Dale, talking about investments. Hence the elderly couple decided to stay the night rather than drive back into town. She came to hug Hinata and looked at her properly. "My, you do look fine this morning. Are you sure you were unwell last night?"

Hinata laughed uncomfortably. "Dale wants coffee, does he?" she asked. "I'll make him one."

"Make that two," Molly replied. "One for me."

"Okay," Hinata said, heading toward the other side of the kitchen where her fancy coffee machine was already warmed up for the day. "Make that four," Mikoto said. "One for me and one for Fugaku."

Hinata chuckled and began grinding the coffee beans. A few minutes later, four cups of delicious coffee were ready for enjoyment.

Molly couldn't help but quickly take a sip of hers, and she sighed in pleasure.

"So…," Hinata began. "Tell me which of your grandchildren should get married first."

"Someone standing right next to me," Molly said.

Hinata pulled a face. "Not likely," she muttered under her breath.

"A little bird told me you and Shino are going somewhere."

"Shino and I are going nowhere. If we are going somewhere, I will of course inform both you and Mikoto first. How about that?"

"Hurray for that," Molly said. "At least that means you're a step ahead of my other grandchildren."

Molly and Mikoto took their cups and headed out of the kitchen. Hinata couldn't believe they couldn't get enough of her coffee. But then again, she had been trained as a barista professionally and had worked in cafés during her university years, gaining a lot of experience to qualify as almost an expert in the field.

Hinata continued to enjoy her light breakfast as she contemplated what Molly meant when she said Hinata was a step ahead. _A step ahead in what?_

It wasn't long before Beth stormed into the kitchen again, shooing her out and telling her to get Doby away from the pond before he had the chance to drown himself. Hinata quickly put down her cup of tea and rushed out the door.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you all enjoy reading. Please Review. Next chapter is almost done. Show me some love so I can update as soon as possible. Thank You.

 **iiiMey-chan:** I am glad you like it. Sakura and Sarada are going to be pest. They will get punished in future. Hope you liked this chapter as well.

 **Gaara Slapped My Ass:** Thank you for your kind words friend. Haters message does not get me worked up because they take their time to read and review. I am actually glad that I am able to bring out some emotion through my writing to make them leave comments, even though its negative.

Your "DRAMA SHOCK", they will meet with their true identity in next chapter. And Thank you so very much for your support. I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

 **A (guest):** I am glad you enjoy it. As for Sakura, she is just a mean person by nature.

 **Splaaash-attack:** I am glad you like it.

 **GUEst:** Hope you like this chapter.

 **Dasgun:** Thank you for the review.

 **Fumiko Kasajishi:** Thank you for the review.

 **Hyuuga Hitomichan:** I am glad you like it. There will be more itahina and sasuhina moment. Every Uchiha has a connection to Hinata.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Itachi hadn't had such wonderful sleep for a while. There hadn't been any noise like in New York at all, just what he'd always wanted. Quiet. Peaceful. And he wondered why he had left home in the first place. When he woke up this morning, it had been to the sound of birds chirping outside his window and then soon after that the voices of girls talking. He was pretty sure it wasn't Sarada or Sakura. The maids perhaps?

Now fully awake and refreshed after his shower, he sighed in content. It couldn't get any better than this, sitting here with his brothers in the morning sun in their pretty courtyard with cherry and magnolia trees in full bloom surrounding them.

 _Woof! Woof!_

"Holy smokes!" Tobi said, perching up in his chair. "Is that?"

"Doby," Sasuke supplied, more interested than he wanted himself to be.

The dog appeared from the direction of the pond and dashed straight at them. Doby stopped by Shisui and greeted him by jumping around the man's leg with delight. Shisui picked him up and let him sit on his lap as he fed the dog his bacon.

"Man, Doby really likes to hang around here, doesn't he?" Tobi said.

"That's because his owner lives nearby," Obito put in.

"We should return Doby and the memory stick to her after breakfast," Madara suggested.

"I concur," Shisui added, feeding Doby yet another piece of his bacon.

Izuna, who was sitting beside Shisui, stroked Doby's head. The dog was obviously enjoying being the center of attention and stuck his tongue out in delight.

Sasuke reached out, got himself another perfectly cooked, golden-brown toast and was just about to sit down when he saw her. His heart, to its own accord, did a good somersault at the sight, and naturally the toast decided to do a somersault of its own as well all the way to the marble floor because Sasuke's fingers and thumb seemed to have lost their gripping function.

She was in _their_ house, and Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes. He felt another hard thump in his chest.

"She's in our house," he whispered in amazement.

The brothers turned their eyes toward the house, and sure enough, the girl they were talking about was there. Not to mention the fact that she looked amazing in that lilac dress and heels, and yes, talking to Fugaku—their dad—in a most intimate way.

When they thought it wouldn't get any weirder, Fugaku pulled the girl into his arms and kissed her on the cheek.

The brothers stared at the scene before them in shocked surprise, confused, as millions of questions ran through their minds. A moment later, she pulled back and rushed out the opened French door and right into the courtyard.

Hinata nearly fell off her three-inch Jimmy Choo pumps when she came face-to-face with the seven brothers again. _This isn't happening_ , she thought to herself. She couldn't believe it. _Just couldn't!_ She thought she'd get away with it. She thought they would still be in bed until midday, and she therefore wouldn't have to face them. _At least not this soon_.

Well, at least she was decently dressed this morning and in a better position.

"Doby," she said.

"Woof!" the dog replied.

"You found him." Fugaku suddenly appeared behind her, one hand holding his coffee cup and one arm wrapped around her shoulder, which of course caused the brothers to stare at him in confusion.

"Shouldn't you be thanking your brothers for that?" Fugaku asked Hinata, a cheeky smile on his face.

The brothers blinked, and then Sasuke said, none too quietly, " _What_?"

" _Brothers_?" Itachi shouted.

" _We're her brothers_?" Obito asked in disbelief, pointing a finger at Hinata. It had to be a joke—a very big, fat joke that none of them liked.

Fugaku cocked his head to one side—a gesture they all knew very well that meant he was disappointed and was indeed very serious with the whole situation. He glanced from one of his sons to the other, his eyes sharp as he said,

"Don't tell me you forgot Hinata? Shocking. Most shocking. Your own adopted sister."

A long silence followed. Hinata knew Fugaku was doing this on purpose. She knew he knew the brothers didn't remember her. She knew he knew she didn't want to meet them again. She knew he took pleasure in shocking his seven sons by introducing her to them with such weird timing.

She gritted her teeth and said, "Doby! Come here. You're in trouble, young man."

Doby jumped out of Shisui's arms, trotted to her, and rubbed his head against her legs to say he was sorry. She bent down to pick him up. The view was too enticing not to notice and the brothers simply stared at her—enchanted.

Fugaku noticed his sons staring and coughed loudly to bring them back to Earth.

"I'm going back in," Hinata said, turning around.

"No, you're not." Fugaku held her by the shoulder, rather a bit too firmly for her liking, to prevent her from escaping.

"Have breakfast with your _brothers_." He emphasized the word _brothers_ again.

"I've had mine, thanks," Hinata replied, desperate to get out.

Fugaku was having none of it and made her sit in the empty chair between Madara and Izuna. Then he left to get more food, muttering to himself he really needed another cup of coffee because one wasn't enough, and a certain person refused to offer him another, as too much was bad for his health.

Hinata heard him and said loudly, "Too much caffeine isn't good for you, Daddy Fugaku."

Fugaku secretly smiled. Ah! Just the exact response he needed. Once at the door, he had a quick glance at his seven sons and saw the sour expressions on their faces. Ah! Yet another satisfying response. _Daddy Fugaku, indeed_.

Hinata placed Doby on her lap in front of her as if to form some sort of barrier between her and the brothers. Izuna reached out to pet the dog. Hinata got very annoyed when Doby rubbed his head against the handsome man's palm and then even moved from her lap onto Izuna's to sit. Not a moment later, the dog began to enjoy some of Izuna's delicious bacon.

"Doby, behave yourself. No more bacon, all right?" She lectured. "Your cholesterol isn't too good at the moment."

Doby ignored her, and just when she thought she couldn't handle the brothers staring at her in silence any longer and was ready to leave this weird situation in the past, Itachi said, "So you're Sally?"

Hinata gritted her teeth and her cheeks turned to become pink. "My name is Hinata. Pronounced Hi-na-ta. It's a Japanese name meaning SunShine."

She thought she really needed to get that important information out for them to understand. She really did hate the name Sally. It rhymed with silly, after all. Yes, Hinata wasn't a "Silly Sally." Hinata was _Hinata_. _Full stop_!

"Sally means princess," Itachi said, his eyes on her.

"And you were the one giving the nickname to me," Hinata replied sarcastically. "I believe it also sounds rather like silly. Sally is silly. Hinata is silly."

The brothers shuffled uncomfortably in their seats as though all of a sudden memories came flooding back.

Itachi couldn't believe this beautiful girl was Hinata, their adopted sister from years ago. The girl who Sakura and Sarada had always picked on and made fun of. She was the girl he had secretly liked to watch from afar because she interested him. There had been too many incidents in the past involving her that he hadn't wanted to remember, and when he started boarding school, he'd pushed all of those memories out of his mind and locked them deep within him. Eventually, he'd forgotten all about her because he'd never seen her again—that was until yesterday and then today.

Again he felt that odd pain throbbing within him, oddly hard to control.

Fugaku reappeared with another big tray of scones, savory muffins, fried eggs, and toast. He placed it in the center of the table and sat down in the empty chair next to Itachi.

"So…," He began. "Where are we up to?"

The brothers didn't know how to respond because none of them wanted to talk. Fugaku reached out for toast and began to eat it. The silence continued.

Sasuke, sitting there silently staring at Hinata, gritted his teeth at the odd throbbing pain that continued to pound deep within his heart. Now he knew why he'd felt that odd, aching sensation back when he'd first sighted the island. It was because of her, Hinata, his adopted sister. He'd wanted to forget about her and in fact had done marvelously well for the past years. Not even a small thought of her had ever occurred to him. That was until today. Now every fragment of memory about her rushed back to him knocking him over like a blast of ice-cold water, making him almost breathless. She was the Hinata he used to care about, used to like—used to love even. But that particular incident thirteen years ago had changed everything.

"Hinata," Fugaku said loudly, breaking the silence, "Shino phoned last night, asking for you."

Hinata looked up. The brothers turned their attention to their dad then. Fugaku could tell curiosity was eating at them, and he grinned rather pleasantly.

"But since you weren't feeling well, he left you a message."

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

"He was asking if you'd be free this afternoon."

"I'm free," Hinata said quickly. Anything to get out of staying at home with these men.

"Good. I told him you're free. He needs help at the lab, running tests."

"His research, I suppose," Hinata murmured under her breath. "He'll be at Fuka's birthday party anyway, so I'll go to the lab with him after."

"Of course," Fugaku said, smiling. "So Itachi." He turned to his son who was watching Hinata way too intensely, which of course warmed Fugaku's blood. "Would you like to be a volunteer?"

Itachi turned to his father and blinked. "What?" Obviously, he wasn't paying attention.

"Shino needs healthy volunteers for his research," Fugaku said. "Unfortunately, I'm too old."

Hinata knew where Fugaku was going and quickly put in, "I'm sure he already has enough volunteers."

"I'd be happy to volunteer," Madara said. "What do I have to do?"

"Not much." Fugaku chuckled. "Just sit and let Hinata take your blood."

Hinata frowned at Fugaku. Her adopted father laughed at her sour expression.

"I'll volunteer," Izuna said quickly.

"Me too," Tobi said. "So, erm, Hinata, does it hurt? Taking blood, I mean."

The brothers were quite shocked that Tobi had managed to say their adopted sister's name without a hint of a quiver in his voice, as if it were absolutely natural for him. But then again, Tobi had been rather young when Hinata had been adopted, and so his interactions with her hadn't been much of anything before she'd left for boarding school. Hence he didn't feel awkward calling her by her actual name.

"Maybe a little," she said, smiling at him.

Itachi nearly choked on his breath when she smiled. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It was the same, of course, for the rest of his brothers because they couldn't stop staring at her once again.

Fugaku, on the other hand, suddenly realized that not only did all his sons like Hinata, but they were smitten with her. In a million years he never imagined that could be possible. Now he wondered if he'd be having more trouble keeping them away from Hinata.

"Oh my, my!" Hana uttered the moment she was outside. "Look at you guys, taking my precious Hinata away." She came to stand behind her friend, and after greeting her seven cousins good morning, she pulled Hinata up and told seriously that they were going to be late if they didn't hurry.

"What's the hurry?" Izuna asked.

"Fuka's birthday party," Hana said. "Hinata and I were asked to help. It starts at ten. Oh, why don't you guys come along? I'm sure you remember Fuka? She's turning eighteen today."

"Yeah," Tobi said. "I remember Fuka."

Fuka Granger, Mr. Mayor's one and only darling, was only a few years younger than Tobi himself. He remembered her back in elementary school as the girl with golden-brown hair and warm-brown eyes who always talked and talked and talked.

"Good," Hana said. "See you guys there." She then dragged Hinata, who was only too glad to be taken away, into the house to get their bags.

The brothers watched Hinata go—each had his very own odd expression on his handsome face.

* * *

"You know…," Hana began, her eyes on the peaceful scenery of lush, green rolling hills in the distance. "You never talk about them much."

Hinata stared at the long, straight road ahead as they made good speed along the motorway toward Mr. Mayor's house in town. "What do you mean?"

"The brothers," Hana said, adjusting herself on the seat. "You didn't talk about them much back in high school. What was that all about?"

Hinata shrugged her shoulders. "Was there any need?"

"Was there any need?" Hana asked in disbelief. "You didn't even tell me you were Uncle Fugaku's adopted daughter until I actually found out myself. And that was because Uncle Fugaku himself came for the parents' interview regarding you, and I thought he came to visit me. That was really embarrassing."

Hinata laughed. "Well, yes, I suppose I should have told you, but at the time I thought it didn't really matter."

Hana shook her head. "If you were to announce to everyone that you were Uncle Fugaku's adopted daughter, those bitches wouldn't have bullied you."

Hinata knew whom Hana was referring to. Those bitches were their ex-classmates from high school, Karin Uzumaki, the hot cheerleader, and her throng of worshipers.

"They'd still bully me anyway," Hinata said, her mind flashing back to those times in high school. It had been tough and very unpleasant—especially if you got picked on your first day by the prettiest and most influential girl in the school.

And she had been right. They had continued to bully her even after they had found out she was adopted and had no blood relation whatsoever with the Uchihas. Hence, they argued that she was not a real Uchiha and therefore had only thought of her as a little parasite that clung to this powerful, wealthy family in order to have a good life.

"I suppose," Hana said, frowning darkly. "Does it feel awkward?"

"You mean having the brothers around? Totally," Hinata replied without hesitation. "I haven't seen them for years and now—"

"Totally understandable."

Hinata sighed, and Hana began another unwelcoming subject. It was Shino Aburame.

"Seriously, Hana." Hinata chuckled. "If he really liked me, he would've asked me out by now."

"Shino is a bit shy," Hana said. "You'd have to make the first move."

"Me? No way!" Hinata said. "You know me. I can't do that stuff. And besides, why should I? It'll be a total waste of time if he's not interested in me. And I told you before. I have other plans. I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"Come on," Hana said. "You're twenty-three. If you don't start now, you'll miss the boat. In fact, I'm already thinking you're missing out on a lot of things right now."

"Such as?" Hinata prompted.

"Sex," Hana said without hesitation.

Hinata chuckled. "Sex? And I'm missing out how?"

"You're still a bloody virgin," Hana said. "I mean, I'm not judging you or anything. You know me. You're my best friend, and I totally respect you for that. But come on… Sex is like the best thing ever."

Hinata cocked her head to one side. "I'm sure it's very pleasant and all, especially when you do it with someone you love."

Hana nodded. "Totally. Just so you know, I've only ever done it with Utakata."

"And I'm glad to hear that," Hinata said.

"So what?" Hana asked curiously. "Are you waiting for your Prince Charming or something?"

Hinata chuckled. "I'll know when I'm ready for it."

"For what?"

"For both. The relationship and the sex," she replied. "And now can we talk about something else?"

Hana chuckled. "Okay. Okay. Your real mom. It's about her, right?"

Hinata nodded. "It's what I want. You know how much I want to find her. How much I want to meet her."

"I understand," Hana said. "And I promise not to push things along with you and Shino. But I know for sure that he really likes you."

Hinata laughed. Hana was Hana. She could never stay out of other people's business, especially Hinata's.

Once the girls arrived at the Granger mansion in South Hampton some twenty minutes later, they got busy helping out setting the scene—Hinata with the food and drinks and Hana with the decorations. By twelve o'clock, most of the guests had arrived, and Hinata was quite pleased to see Fugaku and Mikoto amongst them but not so pleased when she spotted the brothers— _all seven of them_ —making such a grand entrance as to cause all the young girls to gasp in awe and break into fits of girlish giggles.

"I can't believe they came," she muttered under her breath, watching a flock of girls rush up to them and surround them, begging for their undivided attention.

"Hinata darling?" Mrs. Granger called out.

Hinata turned to see Mr. Mayor's perfect trophy wife. At only forty-five years of age, she looked way younger than she was with the fine features of a small nose, large brown eyes, and dark brown hair. She was also very nice, as expected of her for being the wife of the city mayor. Except most of the time she was very cheap, and that was why she and Hana were here helping out since only three waitresses were hired for the special occasion.

"Why don't you be a dear and give those handsome young men some drinks?" She nodded toward the Uchiha brothers near the entrance now almost engulfed by young females.

"Of course," Hinata replied and silently added, _Not that I'm one of your_ _waitresses_. She wondered why it had to be her who had to offer the brothers their drinks and not one of the waitresses.

"Since you're so good with drinks and all, you know, considering the fact that you used to be a waitress and of course now own a café." Mrs. Granger chuckled. "And the waitresses are all busy with the food."

"Of course, Mrs. Granger," Hinata managed to reply with a straight face. She wanted to tell the woman that if she were to spend a bit more money and hire more waitresses, then they wouldn't be having this problem, and Hinata herself wouldn't have to deal with the brothers.

"All right," she said. "Why don't you go and enjoy yourself with your daughter? I'll deal with the drinks."

"Oh, thank you, darling. You're a godsend," Mrs. Granger said and then sailed off to greet Fugaku and Mikoto.

Hinata poured champagne into seven glasses, placed them onto the silver tray, and expertly carried it with one hand as she headed to the brothers. Now she felt like a freaking waitress again, and of course the brothers didn't seem to have noticed her presence at all with the massive flock of females swarming around them. It was only a moment later when she realized Fuka, the birthday girl, was one of them. Fuka, it seemed, didn't have any luck at getting herself noticed by the brothers either.

"Hinata," Fuka said excitedly, her eyes bright and shiny. "I can't believe they're here. I heard they're coming to Hana's wedding, but for them to come here, my birthday? I can't believe this. Oh, they're so handsome. Please, Hinata, introduce me to them. Please. I remember Tobi. He's a couple of years older than me. We were in the same elementary school."

Hinata sighed. This was getting even more complicated than she thought. She just wanted to run out of there. Only she couldn't because she was wearing these blasted high heels she found rather difficult to walk in. Then there was also the fact that she still had to offer these glasses of champagne to the brothers, which she'd already promised Mrs. Granger she'd do. That was when a sudden thought struck her. Of course, if Fuka wanted to get introduced to the brothers, then she should.

"Fuka?" She smiled prettily at the younger girl. "Why don't you give these drinks to them and introduce yourself?"

"What? Really?" Fuka asked, doubt in her voice.

"Really. You are, after all, the birthday girl, and it's only natural you welcome your guests," Hinata lectured, shoving the silver tray to Fuka. "Here."

"Oh, but I can't!" Fuka shrieked, pushing the tray back and shaking her head at the same time. "I don't know how to hold this thing." She pointed to the tray. "I might drop it, and it'd be embarrassing."

"You won't drop it," Hinata said firmly. "Here, spread your palm."

"No. No. No." Fuka shook herhead.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Look! You'll be all right. I promise," Hinata urged, practically pushing the tray to Fuka now.

"Are you sure?" Fuka asked uncertainly.

"Very sure," Hinata confirmed and handed Fuka the tray. With hands that shook, Fuka held tight to the tray, praying she wouldn't send it crashing to the floor—or on anyone, for that matter.

"See? You're doing fine," Hinata said. "Now go and offer the drinks to the Uchiha brothers."

"Okay," Fuka said, nervousness echoing in her voice. Then just as she was about to turn, she nearly fainted when she saw Madara, Itachi, and Sasuke behind Hinata, standing there looking very handsome and taking her breath away. Itachi gave her a smile, and she froze, her heart pounding hard within her chest.

"Are those for us?" Tobi asked from behind her, his warm breath fanning against the skin of her neck.

Fuka jumped, sending the tray flying in midair and the champagne splashing on Hinata, her dress soaking wet. The tray landed on the marble floor, spinning a couple of times before it finally laid to rest. The glasses at the same time smashed into tiny pieces.

Hinata sighed, and Fuka froze in shock.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, Hinata," she said. "So sorry."

Hinata managed to smile, though inside she was rather pissed. She didn't blame Fuka for that, though. It was Tobi's fault for surprising the girl, which had caused her to jump and send the tray crashing.

"It's all right, Fuka," she said.

"No, it's not. You're totally wet. Your dress is ruined," Fuka muttered. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. I'll go home and change."

"Sorry." Tobi butted in. "That was my fault." He turned to Fuka and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry, Fuka. I didn't mean to surprise you like that."

Fuka blushed as she gazed up at him, speechless.

"Damn right, it's your fault," Izuna said. "You've ruined her dress."

Tobi cocked his head to one side and moved over to Hinata. "Sorry about that, Hinata," he said. "And since I'm responsible, why don't I take you home to change?"

"You'll do no such thing," Shisui said. "It's my responsibility to take her home."

"Your responsibility?" Tobi asked, outraged. "What have you done? I'm responsible!" He turned to Hinata. "Come, Hinata." He wrapped his hand around her arm and was ready to lead her out when Izuna pulled Hinata to his side.

"Mind what you're touching, young pup," he said coolly.

Hinata couldn't believe what the brothers were doing. What was going on here? Why were they all of a sudden treating her like this? She was totally confused.

"Why are you guys making such a big fuss about this?" Itachi asked his brothers.

"Because she's wet," Izuna said.

"Because she looks uncomfortable," Tobi put in.

"And smells of champagne," Shisui added, moving his nose closer to Hinata and inhaling. "Hmm, delicious." He grinned cheekily.

Hinata scowled at him and moved back. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I have a car, and I can drive perfectly well."

No one was listening to her, however, as they continued their debate.

"Itachi, give us the key," Izuna said. "I'll take her home."

Shisui was having none of it. He caught Hinata by the wrist and led her to the door. "Come on, darling sis. Let's get that wet thing off you."

Sasuke said abruptly, "Just stop the fuss already. She can just change here."

Shisui stopped just as he was about to step his foot out the door. Hinata pulled back and said, "I said I can look after myself."

Izuna nodded his head at Sasuke's perfect suggestion. "That's not a bad idea."

"I'm sure Fuka has something she can borrow." Madara added with a smile.

Hinata was getting very annoyed. She freed her hand from Shisui's grasp and moved so she could get away— _from all of them_. The brothers, however, were blocking her exits— _from all directions_. They were surrounding her now—a giant, tall wall of masculine bodies in jeans and formal shirts that made Hinata catch her breath and made her head spin. She was thinking of escaping through the door, but when she glanced behind her and saw Shisui nodding his head and giving her that flirty smile of his, she kicked that thought out the door first. The front, on the other hand, was blocked by Itachi and Madara. To her right stood Izuna and Tobi, and her left, Sasuke and Obito. _Oh God! What is going on here?_ All she wanted to do was to get away and change, for Christ's sake.

"Um," Fuka said from somewhere behind Tobi, "I do have lots of dresses."

The brothers turned to look at her, which caused Fuka to blush considerably for gaining their undivided attention.

"Why doesn't Hinata change here? Surely at least one of my dresses will fit her."

Hinata wasn't pleased they weren't consulting her regarding what she wanted to do with her wet dress. This pissed her off even more when Itachi said, "It's sorted, then."

She wanted to box his ear when he turned to her and ordered her to, "Go change."

Instead of doing as she was told, which she was very bad at, she glared at him, telling him to go and order someone else around.

Itachi understood she was standing her ground. He sighed and said, "You're wet and—"

Hinata frowned. When she realized he was gazing at her breasts, she glanced down. Instantly, she went bright red. The thin material of her dress was soaking wet, clinging to her skin and clearly showing the shape of her breasts.

She covered herself by crossing her arms across her chest, her frown even darker as she glanced at the brothers. Shisui and Izuna were hiding their smiles. Sasuke's face was expressionless. Madara shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Tobi blushed. And Obito tried to keep his face as straight as he could.

"Come on, Fuka," she said tightly, heading toward the grand stairs, her head held high.

"Err, okay," Fuka replied, hiding a smile as well. "We'll be back in a minute," she said to the brothers.

The brothers' eyes followed them as they climbed the stairs.

Izuna whistled. "Nice package."

"Nice legs," Shisui said.

These remarks were of course rewarded with a dark scowl from Itachi and a hard shove from Tobi to Shisui.

Madara said sternly, "She's your adopted sister."

This quieted Izuna and Shisui. Tobi sighed.

Hinata, on the other side, wanted to die from humiliation as she headed up the stairs, unaware that her seven adopted brothers were admiring her slender legs. She just couldn't believe they'd seen her breasts—well, the shape of them anyway.

Once they were on the first floor and in Fuka's very pink and very large bedroom, Hinata sank on the cozy king-size bed and groaned.

"Which one do you want?" Fuka asked.

Hinata sat up and watched Fuka, who was standing in front of her gigantic walk-in wardrobe filled with designer-brand clothes, holding up a few of her dresses. And yes, they were party dresses all right. _Frills_. Lots and lots of frills and lots and lots of pink. And yes, lots and lots of dresses with no straps.

"Holy smokes!" Hinata said, her eyes almost blinded by the color pink.

"I know." Fuka chuckled. "I love clothes."

"I can totally see," Hinata uttered in amazement, blinking a couple of times.

"Let's find one that fits you," Fuka suggested.

Twenty minutes later, Hinata stood in front of the full-length mirror, staring at herself for the second time that day. She couldn't believe she was wearing this. It was a cute dress— _for a sixteen-year-old girl_ —and she was no sixteen-year-old girl.

"Sorry," Fuka said. "It's the only one that fits you."

Well, it wasn't so bad. It was a satin strapless dress, baby blue, not pink, thank God. There was some very pretty draping to the side of her waist, and it had a tutu-like skirt. The only thing Hinata really opposed was that the dress was designed in such a way as to push one's breasts up and— _voilà_!

"You look amazing, Hinata," Fuka said in awe. "I wish I looked like you. You look so pretty."

Yeah. Hinata had heard that many times before. Sometimes she liked it. Then other times she really hated it because of the way she got treated.

"Your boobs!" Fuka made a face that showed she was awed as well as envious.

"And your shoes are a perfect match with the dress. Jimmy Choo, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Hinata said. "I'll return the dress tomorrow."

"Oh no, that's okay. If it's all right, I'll come up to the house and get it myself," she said eagerly.

That was when it dawned on Hinata. She realized Fuka wanted to see her adopted brothers again. _Or is it just one in particular_?

She chuckled. "All right. Then maybe you could stay for dinner or something," she suggested.

"That'll be great," Fuka said eagerly.

"Come on. I think it's time to blow out those eighteen candles of yours," Hinata said, heading out the door, and Fuka happily followed.

* * *

When the girls reached the ground floor again, the brothers were still there waiting for them. Tobi grinned like an idiot. Madara nodded appreciatively. Izuna whistled. Shisui winked. Obito cocked his head and said, "Not bad." And Itachi and Sasuke didn't look too pleased.

Hinata wasn't pleased either that they had to be there, witnessing her awkwardly descending the stairs in her heels and short skirt.

"What do you think, Tobi?" Fuka asked. "Doesn't she look great? I wore that dress on my sixteenth birthday. Do you remember? But it fits her perfectly."

"Yes, it's beautiful," Tobi said, his eyes on Hinata.

"Do you really remember me wearing that on my sixteenth birthday back in New York?" Fuka asked him, her eyes bright.

Tobi blinked and then laughed uneasily, remembering no such thing.

"She looks like a sixteen-year-old girl," Itachi said, a hint of disapproval in his voice.

"Who wants to get laid," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"You look very nice, Hinata," Madara said.

The brothers didn't miss Madara saying Hinata's name for the first time either, as though he were really cherishing it.

Sasuke turned on his heel and headed toward the drawing room to join everyone else. Itachi turned and left as well.

Hinata was quite pissed with Itachi's behavior thus far. Oh, she'd heard him all right when he said she looked like a sixteen-year-old girl. She wasn't an ignorant sixteen-year-old girl, for Pete's sake.

She was also pissed with Sasuke, who had said she wanted to get laid. Yes, she was a virgin, but she never wanted to look like she wanted to get laid— _ever!_

"Come on," Fuka said to Tobi. "It's time." She grabbed his hand and led the way to the drawing room. Tobi laughed uncomfortably as he trailed behind her. Hinata, Madara, Izuna, Shisui, and Obito followed them.

It was jam-packed with guests in the drawing room, and before long, Mr. Granger gave a good, long speech for his daughter's eighteenth birthday. Then when it was ready, the cake was brought in, and a chorus of "Happy Birthday" followed. Fuka happily blew out the candles that stood on top of the biggest and grandest cake Hinata had ever seen. So that was what Mrs. Granger had splashed her money on— _the cake!_

"Sorry I'm late," a voice suddenly said behind Hinata while everyone was cheering loudly. Hinata turned to see the boyishly handsome Shino Aburame smiling at her.

"Hey," she said. "Where have you been?"

"Hey," he said back. "At the lab. You look great."

"Err, thanks," she replied. "Want some cake?"

"Sure."

Some twenty minutes later, Fugaku came over to his sons, wondering why they were looking so serious at a party. When he turned to observe the object of their interest, he grinned.

"Who's he?" Tobi asked.

"Shino Aburame," Fugaku said. " _Dr_. Shino Aburame."

"Are they dating or something?" Izuna asked.

"Not that I know of," Fugaku said honestly. This was of course followed by sighs of relief from Izuna and Tobi.

"Come on. I'll introduce him," Fugaku announced and led his sons toward Shino and Hinata, knowing very well they were dying to know who this guy really was in relation to Hinata.

"I don't trust that guy," Tobi whispered to Itachi.

"Why not? He's a doctor." Madara chuckled from behind.

"Oh, shut up," Tobi snapped.

Fugaku heard the conversation and hid a smile. "Hinata?" he said the moment he was beside her. "A new dress?"

Hinata turned and gave her adopted father a grand smile. "Accident," she said. "And your sons are to blame." She glared at the brothers, who looked as though they were ready to pick a fight with their defensive stances and serious faces.

"Really?" Fugaku asked and turned to his sons. "Which one of you is responsible?"

"Me," Tobi said without hesitation. "In that case, I believe you owe Hinata. How about repaying her by volunteering for Dr. Aburame's research?"

"Oh. That's great," Shino said before Hinata could say no. "And they are?"

"My sons," Fugaku said. "Madara, I believe, is the same age as you."

Madara shook hands with Shino— _tightly_. He also made sure his hand was on the top, which pleased him and his brothers mightily.

"Izuna." Fugaku nodded to Izuna. "Shisui, Itachi, and Tobi." Then he nodded toward his other sons. "Obito and Sasuke."

Shino shook hands with all of them, pleased. "Are you all volunteering for my research?"

When the brothers all nodded, Shino clasped his hands together and said, "Why don't we go to the lab now? I'm quite eager to—"

Hinata wasn't happy. _All of them?_ Volunteering for the research? Good God!

"But, Shino, you haven't had lunch yet," she cut in. None of the brothers had lunch yet either, and they were quite upset she didn't notice—especially Tobi.

"Besides," she added, "it's rude to leave a party without saying farewell to the hosts."

Shino chuckled. "All right. We'll eat first."

Hinata sighed and walked away to get some food. She'd do anything to delay going to the lab with the brothers. God! She had to take their blood, and the thought didn't sit well with her. She was an expert at venepuncture, having had excellent experience working in the hospital as a lab scientist, and as part of the job description she had to bleed patients as well. It was just that now she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do a proper job simply because it was the brothers.

It was an hour later when Hinata reluctantly wished Fuka a happy birthday and told the girl she had to leave. Then she found herself sitting in the back seat by herself while Tobi sat in the front seat next to Shino, who was driving the car. Behind them, Itachi drove the silver Mercedes with Madara and Izuna as passengers, and Shisui drove the black one with Sasuke and Obito as passengers.

Hinata was even more uncomfortable to be surrounded by eight very tall men in the small lift as they headed up to the fifth floor of the public hospital where the main lab was located. She held her breath until they got out, and by then her lungs were starving for oxygen and her whole body was aching because she'd been so tense.

Sherry, the lab assistant working under Shino, greeted them as they came in. She was quite shocked to see the Uchiha brothers with Hinata. She blushed profusely when they smiled at her, and her hands shook uncontrollably when she handed them each questionnaires a little while later.

"What's this for?" Izuna asked.

"Err, your well-being questionnaires," Sherry replied, blushing again. "It's just the standard. Take your time. I'm here to help if you need any. When you're done, Hinata will take your blood."

The brothers got down to it, answering questions about their diet, medications (if they had any), daily routine, and exercise regime. Shisui and Izuna, as usual, treated it like a competition and raced through the questionnaires. But it was Itachi who finished first and headed out of the small reception area to the lab behind. Shisui muttered under his breath as he watched his brother go. Madara put his pen down and chuckled.

Once he stepped into the laboratory area, Itachi was taken aback by the scene before him. There were massive machines running tests everywhere, some as big and as long as the length of the whole room and connected together like trains. There was quite a number of staff on the floor, working, putting test tubes filled with blood through the analyzers.

He spotted Hinata in a small office on the other side of the lab. He headed for her, and once there he saw she'd put on a lab coat and had her long hair tied back into a ponytail.

He knocked on the door.

She turned.

The sight of her knocked the wind out of him. She looked sophisticated and professional in her lab coat. _Not to mention sexy as hell_. He swallowed. And then he remembered how to breathe properly.

"You've finished your questionnaires, then?" she asked.

He cleared his throat, which had gone dry all of a sudden. "Yeah."

"Sit down."

He didn't move. More specifically, he didn't hear her. He was too busy looking at her.

Hinata cocked her head to one side, wondering what was wrong with him. "Itachi?" she asked.

Itachi blinked. It was the first time she'd called him by his name, and it caused his blood to tingle deliciously. "Huh?"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of needles," she said.

He was offended. "I'm not afraid of needles."

"Then why didn't you sit down like I told you to?

"I was busy—" He stopped short. He couldn't possibly tell her he was too busy looking at her and that he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Then why don't you sit down?" she suggested.

He nodded and went to sit down on the comfy chair, his large frame overpowering the sofa.

"Which arm?" she asked.

"Whichever," he replied, watching her.

Hinata bit her lip and told her heart to stop beating so fast. It was only Itachi, for God's sake. He was her adopted brother. Nothing more. But why was her heart beating so fast, and why were her hands shaking?

She came round to look at his arm up close. Her fingers gently touched against the skin of his forearm, feeling for his vein.

Itachi held his breath for a second. When he breathed again, his heart was beating so fast he thought he wasn't going to make it. He could smell her wonderful scent—the very same one from when he'd first met her—and it made his head swim in delight. He could feel the heat of her body against his, and his whole being stirred in pleasure.

"You have good veins," she said, her face so close to his that Itachi could feel the warmth of her breath fanning over his skin, which sent pleasure rushing through his body.

"I won't have any problem at all," she continued—more to reassure herself than him, of course.

She stood up straight and prepared the tubes and needle. She wiped his skin clean with an alcohol swipe and then put a tourniquet around his arm. She told him to fist his hand to pump out the vein. He did as he was told, all the time watching her closely.

Hinata felt quite nervous by the fact that he was always looking at her. She didn't know why, but she had the feeling he'd done that before when they were children. There was something in the way he was staring at her that made her nervous. Something that stirred her on the inside, making her restless.

"This will hurt a bit," she said, leaning down toward him, and then she slowly inserted the sharp needle through his skin and into to his vein.

He didn't even flinch. In fact, it didn't look like he felt the needle going into his skin at all as he sat there watching her.

Hinata hoped he was only staring at her because he didn't want to see the needle, like most people do, and so he concentrated his attention on something else. But it would have been nice if it was the painting on the wall or the rubbish bin to the side or, even better yet, the computer screen in the corner of the room… not her face.

She quickly and steadily inserted a tube. Itachi's blood easily rushed out from the needle and spurted into the tightly vacuumed tube.

As this was happening, Itachi was staring at Hinata's thick, dark lashes that were curved upward at just the right angle that enhanced her eyes. Then he moved his eyes down to her lips—plump, luscious lips ready to be kissed and sucked.

Itachi unconsciously closed his eyes, feeling his blood stirring knowingly—almost painfully. His fingers itched to touch, to feel those soft ruby lips. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at her chest. Since she was leaning toward him, and the fact that she was wearing that stupid doll-like strapless dress that barely covered her upper portion, he had a very good view of her lovely, round breasts thrusting out toward him, almost begging him to fondle, to kiss, and to—

 _I can't take this anymore_ , he thought and scowled darkly, his whole body fully alert with desire.

"Are we done yet?" he asked none too gently. Hinata glanced up at him and their eyes met. He stared at her for a moment, lost in the depth of the lavender.

Hinata quickly glanced away, her stomach flipping and her heart pounding. "Nearly done," she whispered, her throat dry.

After taking another tube, she undid the tourniquet, loosening it around his arm and then slowly took the needle out, and at the same time, placing a cotton bud on the injured spot. "Hold this," she told him.

Itachi pressed his finger on the cotton bud while Hinata labeled the tubes with his name and date of birth.

He noticed and said, "You know my birthdate?"

She gave him a smile and said, "Bet you don't know mine." Then she added, "I don't even know my _real_ date of birth."

Itachi saw the look on her face he'd seen so many times when they were children. He suddenly felt that protectiveness over her again. It nearly broke his heart, and he had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms. Just as quickly, he realized that was a stupid thing to want to do, and so he abruptly got up, leaving the room in haste, which confused the hell out of Hinata.

"Okay. Leave," she said. "I'm not begging you to stay."

Just then, Tobi barged in and eagerly took the seat. "I'm ready," he said, offering his arm for Hinata. Madara, Shisui, Obito, Izuna, and Sasuke were behind him, waiting by the door. Madara didn't miss Itachi's sudden bad mood as he walked out.

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at Tobi's eagerness, which of course pleased Tobi mightily. Madara, on the other hand, thought the youngest of the brothers was the first to break into Hinata's heart and wondered if he'd be the first to steal it as well.

Itachi and Izuna weren't pleased, however. "It's going to hurt just a little," Hinata said, and before she could pick up the needle, she was being pulled around and found herself facing Itachi's wall of hard chest. She blinked, looked up, and saw him looking down at her—not her face, but her chest—which she minded very much.

She also minded very much that he was so close to her and the fact that he was touching her again— _without her permission_.

The brothers were all watching Itachi with interest, wondering what he was doing. Itachi didn't give a hoot that it was inappropriate for him to be doing this, however, and he pulled Hinata's lab coat tight across her front, covering her exposed chest from prying eyes. Then he buttoned the coat up for her—one by one—very slowly, all the way to her collar.

As he was doing this, Tobi blinked several times, confused. Madara secretly smiled as he immediately knew why Itachi was in such a foul mood. Izuna and Shisui shook their heads, knowing very well they were going to miss out on a very good view. Sasuke scoffed. And Obito chuckled.

Hinata wasn't pleased that Itachi was suddenly acting as if he was her real brother and worried about what she looked like wearing such a revealing outfit. She took a step back and glared at him once he was done.

"Hurry up," he said and strode out the door again.

"I'll take my time, thank you very much," she replied through gritted teeth and swore she'd make him sorry for humiliating her in front of his brothers.

And indeed, she did take her time as she slowly and meticulously bled the rest of the brothers. Tobi closed one eye and sneaked a peek with another as Hinata inserted the sharp needle into his skin. He jumped and gasped, which caused Hinata to giggle at his reaction. That of course pleased Tobi nicely, and he was indeed rather sorry that the process finished all too soon. Shisui was the manly one. He sat and relaxed back as he watched her work, his eyes always on her pretty face, a nice smile playing about his lips.

"Are we done already?" he asked, a look of displeasure written on his face, disappointed that the procedure ended all too soon.

"Did you want me to take another tube?" She teased.

"No, you're not," Izuna said from behind. "I've been waiting for ages already. Now scoot!" He pulled Shisui by the arm and shoved his brother from the chair.

"Just hurry up, will you!" Itachi called out. His voice was thoroughly impatient.

Hinata pulled a face as she prepared another set of equipment.

"She'll be taking her time," Izuna replied. "Isn't that right, Hinata? Take your time, my sweet. I don't want you to rush such a delicate job."

Hinata chuckled. "Of course not."

"See?" Izuna nodded to his brother to tell them he was right. "Our dear sister agrees."

A dark scowl from Itachi greeted him. Obito looked heavenward. Tobi was confused why Itachi was so pissed. Shisui chuckled. Madara shook his head. And Sasuke looked as impassive as ever.

When the needle went in, Izuna kept his face straight and even rewarded her with one of his charming, handsome smiles for not hurting him too much. Hinata was pleased indeed that when it was Obito's and then Madara's turn they were being very nice and polite as they simply sat there quietly while she did her job. Once they were done, she sighed with relief and thought it wasn't so bad after all. Her joy, however, didn't last long when Madara finally got out of the chair and he said, "And lastly, our Sasuke."

Hinata nearly dropped the test tube she held in her hand. She swallowed and suddenly felt her whole body go tense. She saw Sasuke take the seat and nearly stop breathing altogether.

Was it just her, or was the room suddenly very hot? _Calm down, Hinata. Just calm down_ —she told herself. _It's only Sasuke, your adopted brother_.

With her mind still on the man sitting near her, she prepared the needle and was about to jab it into his skin when she realized something wasn't right. _Holy Mother of Jesus!_ She nearly forgot to clean his arm.

She put the needle down, picked up the alcohol swipe, and turned to him. Honest to God, she really did try not to look at him, but she couldn't help herself. She glanced up and her eyes met his. Instantly, she was drawn into the deep pool of the mauve-black color. Her heart, of its own accord, pounded like it had no tomorrow.

Sasuke held his breath as he gazed at her, taking in the exotic beauty who had stolen his interest since they'd met again yesterday after so many years. Then it all came back to him—the light scent of cherry blossom, the warmth of her breath, and the delicious sensations within his being when she was near. _And that kiss in his dream last night?_ It was from her when they'd been children. That realization knocked the wind out of him, and he felt as though he couldn't breathe.

 _Breathe, Sasuke, breathe!_ the voice in his head shouted at him.

Hinata quickly looked away, feeling her heart aching within her chest because of the way he was looking at her. This wasn't the same Sasuke she'd known back in childhood. This Sasuke hated her. This Sasuke was disgusted with her. And she had to keep that in mind and stay as far away from him as possible. Thus she turned her attention to bleeding him instead.

She made quick work of it and was indeed very glad it was finally over. Hence when Shino was busy giving the brothers a tour around the lab and going to extreme lengths to explain why his research was so important, even showing them how the analyzers worked, Hinata hid in the bathroom, freshened up, and tried her best to regain her composure before coming back out to face the brothers once again.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review.

 **French(Guest):** Thank you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

 **Iloveyou(Guest):** Thank you for the review.

 **Naruto and Fairy Tail:** I am glad you like it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thank you for the review.

 **Splaaash-attack:** I am glad you like you for the review.

 **Thesunkunoichi:** I am glad you like you for the review.

 **flornoir:** Young Hinata is shy and uncomfortable about herself. But she is not very shy when she grows up. She stands up for herself when the need arise. You can expect to see a normal Hinata who is not too bold and not too shy, just a neutral character. Sarada and sakura will never change. I hope you like this chap. Thank you for the Review.

 **Katie(Guest):** I am glad you like you for the review.

 **crazylovehina(Guest):** Thank you for the review.


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